
Class_ 

Book 

Copyright^ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT: 



ELEMENTS OF 
GOVERNMENT 

Political Institutions 

Local and National, in the 

United States 

BY 

ARNDT M. STICKLES, A.M. 

PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

WESTERN KENTUCKY STATE NORMAL SCHOOL 

BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY 




AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 

NEW YORK CINCINNATI CHICAGO 



.S8 



Copyright, 1914, by 
ARNDT M. STICKLES. 

ELEM. OF GOV. 
E. P. I 



SEP 30 1314 
/d-o 

©CI.A380631 



PREFACE 

The purpose of this small volume is, in brief, to set 
forth such guiding principles and truths of Civics as in the 
experience of the author seem essential for good citizen- 
ship. In it the author has endeavored to show how, out of 
the advancing wave of human progress, certain principles 
of government and political institutions spring forth which 
make for the highest order of citizenship ; and to explain 
whence and how historically the government under which 
we live, came into existence, and how it is conducted at the 
present time. 

In every subject discussed in so small and elementary a 
treatise as this, much material must necessarily be omitted. 
The intention is not to present a household encyclopedia 
of interesting facts pertaining to the science of govern- 
ment, but to show Civics historically developed as the sub- 
ject has been worked out and used by the author in the 
classroom. In a word, the purpose is to make clear to the 
pupil how historical situations evolved problems of govern- 
ment and solved them ; also, to arouse in him sufficient in- 
terest in present conditions so that he will see that there 
are new problems around him, the solution of which con- 
stantly demands his assistance. 

In the preparation of this book, many more references 
were consulted than are given in the list suggested for the 
student's use. Experience has taught the author that it is 
not fair to assume that students in secondary schools can 



IV PREFACE 

master much of the source material frequently given as 
references on Government. The references given at the end 
of each chapter have been carefully selected. They are 
alphabetically arranged, are recent, cover the subject treated, 
and are such as almost any High School may reason- 
ably be expected to have, or may get with small expense. 

The experience of the author leads him to believe that 
with students of High Schools and Normal Schools the 
best results are obtained when the appropriate section and 
clause of the Constitution are presented for reference with 
the discussions in the various chapters dealing with the 
federal government. Endeavor has been made in all dis- . 
cussions to avoid technical and abstruse points upon which 
even constitutional lawyers may differ, but on the other 
hand to present such material as vitally concerns the pres- 
ent and future of our country. That material is every- 
where about the pupil, and should be used to stimulate 
assertive citizenship in every community. 

The author owes a-great personal debt to Dr. Henry H. 
Cherry. The " Civic Image," a textbook on Civics written 
by him, embodying his own very successful experience in 
the teaching of government, is in a large measure the in- 
spiration of this manual on the subject. With his consent 
and approval, some of his book, in a revised form, is con- 
tained in this volume. Should this brief treatise arouse as 
earnest a study of the underlying principles of government 
and good citizenship as did Dr. Cherry's book, the author 
shall feel part of the personal obligation and gratitude he 
owes him paid ; falling short of that, no appreciation in a 
preface can even partially pay it. 

The author is indebted to many teachers and former 
students for their invaluable suggestions and aid in the 
preparation of this work. Among those to whom, he is 



PREFACE V 

especially indebted, are Professor William A. Obenchain, 
of Ogden College, Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Mr. J. 
C. Castleman, of South Division High School, Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin, who carefully read the manuscript, offered im- 
portant corrections, and made many valuable suggestions 
for improvement, the outgrowth of their scholarship and 

wide experience as teachers. 

ARNDT M. STICKLES. 

Bowling Green. Kentucky. 
April 6, 1914. 



TO TEACHERS 

Government may be and is taught in our secondary 
schools by either of two methods : as a separate course, or 
in connection with American History. Both systems have 
strong advocates, and both may be made effective. This 
work has been prepared with the idea of presenting the 
essentials of our government, ranging through the several 
units from the nation down to the township, in such a 
manner that the subject may be taught by either of the 
methods desired. At least one-half year should be given 
to its study for any results ; to cover the subject satis- 
factorily, a year should be taken. 

In high schools where only limited library facilities are 
to be had, and where only one-half year can be given to 
Civics, few of the references appended to the various 
chapters can be used. On the other hand, where a longer 
time is allotted the subject, this text may be looked upon 
merely as a guide, and the reference study books used 
more extensively. This with the living, interesting material 
lying everywhere about the wide-awake instructor and 
pupil, will furnish ample material for a full year's course. 

The usual custom of giving a list of suggestive questions 
after each chapter has been followed although the author 
doubts the pedagogical value of the practice. The true 
teacher will, it is believed, make little use of them, but 
accept them rather as a guide for the student. 



CONTENTS 



Introduction. What the State Means 



PAGE 
I 



PART I. THE NATION 

CHAPTER 

I. American Colonial Government . 

II. The Beginnings of Colonial Union 

III. The Federal Government Organized . 

IV. The New Constitution and its Ratification 
V. Putting the New Government into Operation 

VI. The Lawmaking Department. The Composition, 
Work, and Organization of the Two Houses 

of Congress 

VII. How Laws are Made . . . 
VIII. The Powers of Congress . . . . . 
IX. Federal Control of Taxation and Commerce . 
X. Federal Control of Money and Banks 
XL National Legislative Prohibitions and State 

Limitations 

XII. The Executive Department 

XIII. The Federal Judiciary 

XIV. Interstate Relations and those between the 

Nation and the States . 
XV. Territories, and Public Lands . 
XVI. Supremacy and Ratification of the Constitu- 
tion 

XVII. Amending the Constitution, and the Amendments 

XVIII. International Relations . . 

vii 



5 
13 

26 

34 

50 



57 
84 

99 
123 

137 

156 
167 
206 

230 
236 

251 
256 
268 



Vlll 



CONTENTS 



PART II. THE STATES AND LOCAL 
GOVERNMENT 

CHAPTER 

XIX. Town and Township Organization 

XX. The County 

XXI. The State Governments under the Constitution 

XXII. Controlling Powers of the State 

XXIII. Municipal Government ..... 

XXIV. Problems of the City . .... 
XXV. Education : A Problem of the State and Na- 
tion 

XXVI. Political Parties of To-day and Their Organ 

ization . . . . . 
XXVII. Duties of the Citizen ..... 



Articles of Confederation . 

The Constitution of the United States 

Index ....... 



PAGE 
278 

287 

30I 

318 

335 
35i 

364 

372 
388 

393 
399 

4ii 



ELEMENTS OF GOVERNMENT 

INTRODUCTION 
WHAT THE STATE MEANS 

Man in Association. — There are evidences of grouping, 
of mutual understanding, and of primitive organization, 
even in the ancient myths which antedate authentic his- 
tory. Whether, as is commonly believed, primitive men 
were warlike and selfishly looked after their own indi- 
vidual interests only, is not essential here; that there 
came a time when people trusted one another, when 
common interests and mutual safety brought about asso- 
ciation and organization, is. on the other hand, of greatest 
importance to us. 

Origin of Government. — What first led men into 
organized association is not altogether clear. Doubtless 
there was. even among the most barbaric and primitive 
peoples, some sort of family tie or relation. Probably it 
was man's helplessness in his childhood that suggested 
and gradually developed this idea. Whatever the cause, 
or reason, the family ultimately became a definite social 
unit. It may never have been an independent political 
unit in itself, but what is even more important, it became 
the nucleus of a larger organization, the political unit 
known as a horde, or clan. As soon as home fife, however 



2 INTRODUCTION 

crude and simple, began, organization and rules or laws 
naturally developed. Other institutions also started in 
the same elementary way. In a young savage being 
taught to make an arrowhead, or weave a basket, there is 
seen the germ of school life. Religious ideas early mani- 
fested themselves, and led to some form of common or 
tribal worship. The desire to gain what others possessed/ 
led, when force had proved ineffective, to the idea of barter! 
or exchange, in which is seen the inception of our gigantic 
modern commercial enterprises. Thus families expanded 
into clans, clans into tribes, and tribes into nations. And 
during this time, the home, the school, the church, business 
relations, and social life developed, broadened, and grew 
ever more and more complex and interrelated. 

Purpose of Government. — It is not true, as is sometimes 
charged, that government was organized to limit and re- 
press man. On the contrary, government may be defined 
as the obedience organized society enforces for its protection 
and perpetuity. As soon as men began to live together, 
even in the smaller groups, they plainly began to exercise 
self-control in their regard for the rights of others. Govern- 
ment, then, it will be seen, is intended to establish and per- 
petuate freedom and the general welfare of the governed, 
and to provide protection from such evil as might befall, 
them either from within or from without the state. 

The State. — Reference has already been made to certain 
political units, such as the clan and tribe, out of which the 
idea of government grew as a natural consequence. When 
such a political unit becomes a clearly defined and independ- 
ent group of people, permanently organized, and occupying 
a more or less clearly defined territory, it is called a 
state. In this use of the term state it has its broadest 



WHAT THE STATE MEANS 3 

meaning, i.e., it is practically synonymous with the word 
nation. 1 

A state in this broad sense is rather difficult to define 
accurately, but may be understood through its attributes. 
It must have political organization, a relatively fixed ter- 
ritory, unity in action, common interests and laws, and 
a population with a predominant language. A state may 
then be defined as a limited territory controlled and inhabited 
by people with common political ideas and institutions. 
Though the state has assumed different forms in times 
past, the civilized world of to-day has practically only 
two of those forms left, the limited monarchy and the re- 
public. Until recently Turkey and Russia were absolute 
monarchies, but democratic movements have resulted in 
Hmiting the ruler's authority in each. 

In the limited monarchy, as in Great Britain and Ger- 
many, the ruler, generally hereditary, shares his power 
with an elective legislative body. In the republic, or 
representative democracy, the source of all political power 
lies in the ballot of its citizens. In the United States 
the republican form of government, based upon the will 
of the majority, is best adapted to our needs. While this 
form is not perfect, we are learning how to make it better 
as time goes on. Based as it is upon the intelligence and 
the patriotism of the voters of the nation, it would not do 
for Russia at present. Education in government is a mat- 
ter of slow growth, and Russia's people have had little 
experience in managing the government of that state. 

1 Thus the United States, like Great Britain or Germany, is a state. The 
student should distinguish carefully between this use of the word and the 
narrower use indicating one of the forty-eight parts or commonwealths of 
the United States. 



INTRODUCTION 



LIBRARY REFERENCES 



Andrews: New Manual of the Constitution, 9-22. 

Ashley : American Government, rev. ed., 1-6. 

Blackmar: Elements of Sociology, 3-1 1 ; 99-123. 

Boynton : School Civics, 7-21. 

Carver : Principles of Rural Economics, 1-13. 

Forman: Advanced Civics, 3-15. 

Hart: Actual Government, 21-32; 35-41. 

Kaye : Readings in Civil Government, 3-9. 

Strong and Schaffer: Government of the American People, 3-15. 

West : Ancient World, 1-10. 

Wilson: The State, rev. ed., sees. 1473-1489; 1514-1536. 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. State two or three theories of the origin of government. 

2. What is meant by institutional life ? Name five or six institu- 
tions society has developed. 

3. Define government. Give purposes of government. 

4. Define the term state or nation. 

5. Define different kinds of national governments. 

6. Why must a representative democracy depend upon intelligent 
voters ? 

QUESTION FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That a limited monarchy is a better form of government 
than a republic. 



PART I — THE NATION 

CHAPTER I 

AMERICAN COLONIAL GOVERNMENT 

Explorations. — The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries are 
known in history as centuries of explorations. The reasons 
for this are many and various, some of which were an eco- 
nomic and commercial restlessness in Europe, a new and in- 
creased religious zeal, an unparalleled desire for adventure, 
and the new awakening to life's opportunities and possi- 
bilities brought about by the wide diffusion of learning 
which was made possible by the invention of the printing 
press. Perhaps the most important single result of this 
period, was the accidental discovery of the New World in 
1492. Measured in terms of the effect this discovery has 
had upon the world's history, this was the crowning achieve- 
ment of the era, if indeed not of all time. A detailed 
account of the discovery and explorations made within 
the contiguous territory now embraced in the United 
States will not be given here, as they may be obtained from 
any American history textbook. This period of explora- 
tion and settlement extended from 1492 to about 1600. 

Spain's Possessions in Our Country. — As Spain was 
the first nation to discover the New World, she likewise 
was the first to plant settlements within the present confines 
of the United States. Claiming, as she did, the southern 
part of the present United States from coast to coast even 

5 



6 THE NATION 

as far north as the latitude of Virginia in the east, and still 
farther north in the west, she made no real effort at settle- 
ment except in the extreme south and southwest. So 
little of importance, as far as the political life of our nation 
is concerned, came of these or of her subsequent attempts 
at exploration and settlement, that Spain may be dismissed 
from our consideration at once. Never has a nation had 
so excellent a chance to add to her greatness, and so signally 
failed in doing so. 

France in North America. — France was a close rival of 
Spain in Europe and likewise in America. She explored 
and early attempted settlements in the southeastern part 
of the United States, where she clashed with and was routed 
by Spain. Later she established permanent settlements 
in Canada, and in the eighteenth century gradually 
took possession of the Mississippi Valley to the west of 
her great rival, England. In the Great Lake basin, down 
the Mississippi, and at last in the Ohio Valley, she planted 
many settlements and forts, thus becoming an important 
factor in determining our early history, particularly in 
furthering English colonial unity. 

England's Colonies. — After a little over a century of 
discovery, exploration, and unsuccessful attempts at settle- 
ment, England, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, 
began settlements with more organization and in greater 
earnest than before. Two commercial companies were 
formed in 1606, to which were given extensive grants along 
the Atlantic Ocean. To the one, called the London Com- 
pany, King James I gave the right to plant a colony some- 
where between 34 and 41 north latitude ; and the other, 
the Plymouth Company, was to establish its colony some- 
where between 3 8° and 45 . The companies, however, were 



AMERICAN COLONIAL GOVERNMENT 7 

to keep their settlements one hundred miles apart. These 
companies were subject to the king under a charter given 
by him. The London Company made its first settlement 
in Virginia in 1607, but its charter, after being twice 
changed, was finally revoked entirely in 1624. In the South, 
the settlement of Virginia was followed, in the order named, 
by the settlement of the other English colonies of Mary- 
land, the Carolinas, and Georgia. 

In 1620, the Pilgrims settled at Plymouth within the 
confines of the Plymouth Company's domain. This was 
followed by the founding of Massachusetts Bay Colony in 
1628, which later (1691) absorbed Plymouth, the two being 
jointly known as Massachusetts. The settling of the 
country went steadily on. New Hampshire, Connecticut, 
Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania were settled 
by the English ; while the Dutch settled New York, which 
was taken by England in 1664, and the Swedes settled 
Delaware, which was taken by the Dutch and afterwards 
by the English. 

Government of the Colonies. — The forms of English 
colonial government in America are generally styled as 
charter, proprietary, and royal. There was, strictly speak- 
ing, no real charter government. A charter is merely an 
enumeration of definite rights that did not necessarily 
pertain to colony government. Hence the expression 
" charter government " is really a misnomer. In order to 
facilitate the settlement and development of the colonial 
territory, the crown created corporations, and vested them 
with the power to form settlements and colonies. Eliminat- 
ing the charter idea, then, there would be only two forms 
of government left, viz. the corporation and the provincial. 
The corporation colony was one vested by the crown with 



5 THE NATION 

legal capacities and powers for self-government. The 
provincial colony was one which was directly under the 
crown's control, the government of which was administered 
by such officials as a proprietor, or a royal governor. If, 
then, the colonial forms of government are given as corpo- 
ration and provincial, the colonies at the time of the 
Revolution would be divided as follows : Corporation, — 
Rhode Island and Connecticut; partly corporation and 
partly provincial since 1691, — Massachusetts; provincial, 
— the three original so-called proprietary colonies of Mary- 
land, Pennsylvania, and Delaware ; and those often called 
royal provinces, Virginia, the Carolinas, New York, New 
Hampshire, New Jersey, and Georgia. 

Plan of Colonial Government. — The two self-governing 
and almost independent colonies, Connecticut and Rhode 
Island, are the only two of the thirteen whose govern- 
ment remained the same from their origin to the time of 
the Revolution. Indeed these two as states, Connecticut 
until 18 1 8, and Rhode Island until 1842, observed the forms 
of their corporate charters. With these two exceptions, 
the general plan of organization was about the same in all 
the colonies. Each colony had a governor, a council, 
and an assembly. In Connecticut and Rhode Island 
governors, councils, and assemblies were elected by the 
people. The English Board of Trade usually selected the 
governors for the other eleven colonies, and the crown ap- 
pointed the Board's choice. In the proprietary provincial 
colonies, after 1696, the crown approved the deputy-gov- 
ernor who represented the proprietor. 

The Council. — The council in the colonies generally 
consisted of twelve men, but varied somewhat in number. 
These were men of wealth and importance in the colonies 



AMERICAN COLONIAL GOVERNMENT 9 

who got their authority from the same source as the gov- 
ernors. In Massachusetts they were chosen by joint ballot 
of the general court after 1691. an exception to the general 
rule. The council served as an advisory board to the gov- 
ernor, and in all the colonies except Pennsylvania and 
Georgia it formed the upper house of the legislature. It is 
well to remember as a matter of history, that the assemblies 
often denied the council's legislative powers, since the latter 
generally sided with the governors ; also that they even went 
so far as to compel the governors and councils to give way 
entirely to them at times. Frequently the council served 
as a supreme court in the colony. 

The Assembly and the Suffrage. — Each colony had an 
assembly whose members were elected by the people from 
the towns or counties as the local political units. These 
local units were changed or new units were added by law 
as the population increased. The right of suffrage was 
regulated by colonial law and generally was conferred only 
on property holders, holders of land in the South, and 
holders of either real estate or personal property in the 
North. Xo colony had universal suffrage, and the power 
and the qualifications of voters varied in the different 
colonies, as did also those of their representatives. 

All the colonies except Pennsylvania and Georgia had a 
bicameral legislature, with the two houses — council and as- 
sembly — sitting apart. The acts of the colonial legislature 
were subject to the veto of the governor, who might summon. 
prorogue, and dissolve the assembly at will, or adjourn it 
for as long as he chose, to meet where he saw lit. Again. 
the acts were subject to the approval of the king, and while 
it was rarely done, sometimes he set them aside. From 
1688 to 1775. constitutional growth was practically the same 



IO THE NATION 

in all the colonies. Gradually the assembly's power grew 
until it put strictures on the governor and council almost 
everywhere. It controlled the purse, and used this control 
frequently as a means of threatening the regents of the 
crown. Sometimes the assembly meddled with matters 
not strictly within its jurisdiction, but it is only fair to state 
that this generally occurred only when governors tried to 
be arbitrary or themselves meddled with affairs which were 
not within their legal rights. 

The authority of the governors, as set forth in their com- 
missions, was almost absolute. This authority, however, 
was usually softened by secret instructions from the king, 
who insisted that local conditions in the various colonies 
should largely determine the governor's course of admin- 
istration. The assembly power was continually strength- 
ened and furthered at the expense of the executive owing to 
the kind of royal officials the colonies received. It is a 
notable fact that the governors sent to the colonies were, 
with a few well-known exceptions, of small caliber and little 
influence. England, it seemed, considered America merely 
a good recuperating place for discredited and needy poli- 
ticians. The power of the royal governors was thus greatly 
curtailed, and their acts, while temporarily harmful, ulti- 
mately aided the assemblies in their struggles for liberal 
enactments. 

Courts. — The lowest form of court procedure was the 
trial of petty cases before a justice of the peace. Above 
these local petty courts were the county courts which settled 
civil cases up to a given amount of money, and criminal 
cases not involving death penalties. The highest colonial 
courts were those composed of the governors and councils, 
which acted as supreme courts or as courts of appeal. 



AMERICAN COLONIAL GOVERNMENT II 

Some important cases were taken before the Privy Council 
in England for final adjustment. 

Local Government. — Local government was less uni- 
forrn in the colonies. The old English parish practically 
became the town, and as such, was the smallest local 
political district in New England. The towns governed 
themselves and were also represented in the colonial as- 
sembly. New England had also the county in its organ- 
ization, but it was of minor importance, its business being 
chiefly to maintain courts and clerical records. In the 
South, on the other hand, with the sheriff for leading officer, 
as in England, the county was, almost from the first, the 
real local political unit. In the Middle Colonies, there was a 
mixed system of town and county government. Gradually, 
but not until after the Revolution, the mixed system of 
local government spread everywhere. 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

Ashley: American Government, rev. ed., 41-45. 
Channing : Students' History, ch. III. 
Fiske : Civil Government in the United States, 140-159. 
Garner : Introduction to Political Science, chs. Ill, X. 
Hart : Essentials of American History, chs. IV, VII. 
Johnston and Woodburn : American Political History, I, chs. I, 
II. 

Kaye : Readings in Civil Government, 19-26. 
Muzzey: American History, 27-52 ; 81-103. 
Strong and Schafer : Government of the American People, 17-28. 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. Why was the sixteenth century particularly a great exploring 
period ? 

2. Why was Spain so active at that time in the New World, and 
why did her power gradually wane ? 



12 THE NATION 

3. Why did Spain's political ideas have no abiding effect on the 
future United States ? 

4. France was a great rival of England. Did her political ideas 
affect the colonies ? How ? 

5. State England's claims in the New World. 

6. Time and purpose of the organization of the London and 
Plymouth companies ? 

7. In the different charters given these companies there were a few 
interesting provisions relating to government. Find these provisions. 

8. Note the differences in the geography of Virginia and Massa- 
chusetts ; also, differences in character of settlers ; and in different 
political notions of the early settlers of the two sections. 

9. Distinguish between corporation and provincial colonies. Di- 
vide the colonies at the time of the beginning of the Revolution into 
these two classes. 

10. Note the almost independent colonies of Connecticut and 
Rhode Island. How do you explain England's liberality toward 
them ? What were some special privileges allowed them ? 

n. Define the powers of the colonial governors. 

12. Define the general nature of the councils. How was a council 
chosen ? State its duties. 

13. The Assemblies — How chosen? Duties? Relations to the 
governor and councils ? 

14. Colonial Courts — How chosen ? Duties ? Appeals from ? 

15. Who generally could vote in the colonies ? Good and evil of 
the system of restriction ? 

16. Define the township and the county as local units in colonial 
government. 

17. Point to likenesses and differences in the general plans of 
government among the colonies. How do you explain the differences ? 

QUESTION FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That for England's own good and for the best colonial 
interests up to 1775, too much freedom had been granted Connect- 
icut and Rhode Island. 



CHAPTER II 
THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL UNION 

Colonial Government a School. — Nothing else is so 
slowly learned by mankind as is government. The question 
before each generation of how to govern economically, 
fairly, and wisely so as to lay a foundation conducive to the 
welfare of the next, is probably the most difficult problem 
any nation has to solve. In the American colonies, natu- 
rally, there arose political questions, questions of expediency 
and of justice, which at first involved the interests of only 
one or, at most, only a few of them. Experiments in one 
colony, if successful, would soon be tried elsewhere. Colo- 
nial life, with its hardships and trials, proved, however, just 
the school the colonies needed to attend in order to fit 
themselves for their national future life. In the history 
of any nation's constitutional development, there are 
numerous events which have a distinct bearing on building 
up that nation's permanent plan of government. Those 
leading events and the steps which finally brought about the 
birth of the i^merican Nation will now be considered. 

Union of Connecticut. — The union in Connecticut is 
generally given as the first step toward the uniting of the 
colonies. In 1639 the three hitherto independent towns 
and communities of Windsor, Wethersfield, and Hartford 
drew up a written constitution called the " Fundamental 
Orders of Connecticut." This practically made them inde- 

13 



14 THE NATION 

pendent. Bryce, the great English writer on American 
politics, called their constitution the hrst written instrument 
creating a government. Although Connecticut was an 
offspring of Massachusetts her form of government was 
more liberal, for in Connecticut there was no recognition 
of the English crown and no religious test for voting, both 
of which were required in the parent colony. 

The League of the New England Colonies. — In 1643 
another step was taken toward union. This was a league 
formed by Massachusetts, Plymouth, New Haven, and 
Connecticut. New Hampshire later became a member of 
this confederation, and Maine and Rhode Island attempted 
to become members but were rejected on religious grounds. 
The English government was at this time engaged in a life 
and death struggle with the Puritans, and hence could not 
supervise colonial affairs. So it was that these colonies 
entered into this league, as they said, " for mutual help and 
strength in all our future concernments." This union, 
known as the " League of the New England Colonies," 
was for the purpose of protection against the Indians, to 
oppose the English king, and to resist the encroachments of 
the Dutch and the French. Two commissioners from each 
colony met in one council to manage the joint affairs of the 
confederation, which had, undoubtedly, a greater influence 
in developing the idea of self-government, and in creating 
a sentiment for union among the colonists, than any other 
one thing. Contributions of men and money were based 
on the fighting strength of the various members of the 
league, Massachusetts being the largest contributor by 
far. This circumstance soon led to disagreement, for when, 
in 1653, demands for soldiers were made to carry on an 
Indian War, Massachusetts officials protested that they did 



THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL UNION 1 5 

not see sufficient reason to accede to the demands of the 
league, and this is sometimes called the first nullifying ordi- 
nance in American history. 

The plan of this union is most interesting and instructive 
in its pretensions. It held its meetings annually, when 
matters of war, peace, and Indian relations were discussed; 
provided for a court to settle intercolonial disputes ; and 
passed such measures as a provision for the return of escaped 
slaves and criminals. Here, then, were found many of the 
fundamentals on which the larger Union was later to be 
foimded. 

Penn's Plan. — Following the dissolution of the New 
England League in 1684, there were no definite steps taken 
toward union for years to come. However, the idea was 
by no means lost sight of. In 1690, there was a meeting at 
New York of delegates from Massachusetts. Plymouth, 
Connecticut, and New York, to discuss methods of defense 
against the French and the Indians. Again, in 1696. the 
English Board of Trade was called upon to formulate a plan 
of union. Some uniform plan of handling the Indian prob- 
lem was particularly desired. The following year (1697) 
William Penn presented his ideas of union to the Board. 
Under Penn's plan, each colony was to have two delegates, 
who should meet and form a congress which was to meet 
twice a year in times of war, and once in times of peace, the 
said congress to be presided over by a commissioner ap- 
pointed by the crown. This commissioner was also to 
have command of the troops. This plan was the first 
effort to comprehend all the colonies in a union ; hence 
was of greatest importance. It also advocated ideas on the 
question of taxation, similar to those contended for by our 
Revolutionarv forefathers. 



1 6 THE NATION 

Board of Trade Plan. — In 1721, the Board of Trade 
evolved a plan whereby the colonial governments should be 
placed under the control of a lord lieutenant appointed by 
the king. This official was to issue orders to the governors 
of the various colonies, was to have the power of directing 
the militia, and of raising revenues. The plan, however, 
came to naught. 

The Albany Congress. — In 1754, more than one hundred 
years after the formation of the New England union, the 
king of England advised all the colonies to unite for a 
common defense. This was done on account of the strained 
relations between the French and the English due to their 
overlapping claims in America. Accordingly, a congress 
was called at Albany by order of the Board of Trade, in 
1754, at which Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, 
New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode 
Island were represented. This congress agreed on a plan 
of union proposed by Benjamin Franklin, but its work, 
like that of the Board of Trade, came to nothing. The king 
thought the plan agreed upon gave the colonies too much 
power so objected to it, while the colonies opposed it on 
the ground that it seemed to increase the crown's power. 
Naturally enough, it never went into effect. The plan, 
in brief, was as follows : There was to be a governor-gen- 
eral, and a grand council, — the former to be appointed by 
the king and the latter by the colonial assemblies, — and the 
number of delegates from each colony to the grand council 
was to be determined by the fund the colony raised for the 
general treasury. It is interesting to note that the grand 
council was to lay and collect taxes, and have exclusive 
control of Indian affairs. It was to discourage luxury 
rather than burden industry in its tax schemes. Although 



THE BEGINNINGS OE COLONIAL UNION 1 7 

this plan was rejected, it brought many leading colonial 
citizens together, dispelled prejudices, and made for fra- 
ternal feeling and a keener desire for union. 

The Exit of France. — At first thought it may seem 
strange that the exit of France as a colonizer, neighbor, 
and rival of the English colonies, would serve to promote 
their union, yet such was the case. In fact, the four inter- 
colonial wars between England and France in America 
were very largely responsible for the feelings of common 
interest which ultimately effected the union of the English 
colonies. They thus banded together for mutual self- 
protection from their outside enemies with no thought 
of opposing the mother country. They had self -protection 
in mind, and at the same time they meant to be an aid 
to England. They learned something of their strength, 
however, in coping with France ; and later, with France 
removed, and no foe left but Indians, against whom Eng- 
land never had been especially active in lending aid, they 
began to think of self-protection and self-preservation. 
The treaty of 1763, in which England chose Canada and 
Florida rather than the French West Indies, meant that 
from that time on the English possessions in America 
should be more exclusively British markets for British 
manufactures than sources of supply to them. Many 
English statesmen objected to the treaty of 1763, and freely 
predicted that if the French were driven from Canada, the 
American colonies, no longer having any formidable enemy 
to fear, would gradually draw away from England. It was 
at this juncture that England changed her trade laws and 
regulations, and out of these changes came opposition which 
did not obtain while the French were the rival neighbors 
of the English colonies. 



1 8 THE NATION 

The Stamp Act Congress. — King George III and Parlia- 
ment believed in taxing the colonies, though they opposed 
extending representation to them. Accordingly, they paid 
no attention to the grievances or petitions of the colonies. 
Eleven years passed after the dissolution of the Albany 
convention before another intercolonial congress met. 
On March 22, 1765, the famous Stamp Act was passed 
by the Parliament of England without the consent of the 
people of the colonies. This act imposed stamp duties on 
all legal documents, marriage licenses, and. publications of 
every description. The colonies justly claimed that the 
English government had no right to tax them without giving 
them representation, and stood, almost as a unit, against 
the conduct of England. This led to the calling of the Stamp 
Act Congress, which met in New York, October 7, 1765. 
All the colonies, except New Hampshire, Georgia, Virginia, 
and North Carolina, were represented. This Congress sent 
a communication to the king of England, petitioned Parlia- 
ment, and declared in favor of the natural rights of the 
colonies. The colonies asserted they were not and could 
not be represented in the House of Commons, and made 
very clear that only their colonial legislatures, where they 
had representation, could legally levy taxes on them. 
After a boycott of English goods, and forcible resistance 
to the execution of the Stamp Act, the measure was repealed, 
March 18, 1766. 

A General Statement of Rights. — In 1767 Parliament 
passed acts which seriously impaired self-government in 
the colonies and made the policy of England more despotic 
than ever. These measures were the Townshend acts, 
which levied taxes on certain articles imported into the 
colonies. 



THE BEGINNINGS OE COLONIAL UNION 1 9 

In 1768 Samuel Adams, then a member of the assembly 
of Massachusetts, was instructed by the legislature of his 
colony to write letters to all the other colonies, asking 
them to join Massachusetts in resisting the Townshend 
acts. The response was almost unanimous, all agreeing 
to join in such an effort. On learning this the ministry of 
England proclaimed the letter written by Adams " an act 
of rebellion," and demanded that the Massachusetts 
assembly rescind it. This the assembly by an overwhelm- 
ing vote refused to do ; whereupon the assembly was dis- 
solved by the authority of England through the governor. 
The assemblies of other colonies were also dissolved by their 
governors on various pretexts. Naturally the colonists 
were angered at these measures. Towm meetings were held 
and strong protests recorded. In Boston many of the 
meetings were held in Faneuil Hall, which from that day 
has been known as the " Cradle of Liberty." But these 
were not the only arbitrary acts of the British government, 
for others followed in rapid succession. In 1768 British 
troops were sent to Boston and quartered upon the people, 
in violation of their rights as Englishmen ; citizens of Boston 
were impressed as British seamen ; and John Hancock's 
sloop, Liberty, was seized and confiscated by British officials. 
General discontent prevailed throughout the country. It 
was at this juncture that Samuel Adams wrote a number 
of articles over the signature " Vindex " to show : 

1. That the maintenance of a standing army by the king 
in times of peace and without consent of Parliament, was 
against the law ; 

2. That the existence of such a body implied the consent 
of Parliament, which in turn implied the consent of the 
people, who were always supposed to be present at Parlia- 



20 THE NATION 

ment, either in person or through their representatives; 
and 

3. That the Americans, since they were not present at 
nor represented in Parliament, were therefore under military 
rule, over which they had not been allowed to exercise any 
manner of control. 

Colonial Committees of Correspondence. — In 1773 a 
plan was adopted to keep the colonies in touch with one 
another. This was done through the appointment of com- 
mittees of correspondence. Massachusetts had previously 
devised the plan of having various local correspondents 
representing her different towns and communities, whose 
duty was to consider the rights and grievances of citizens, 
and to ascertain the public opinion in regard to them and 
report the same to other towns in the colony. Realizing 
the possibilities of this plan, the Virginian assembly sug- 
gested in 1773 that it be enlarged upon and a system of 
colonial correspondence embracing all the colonies be pro- 
vided for. In this way a closer cooperation would be 
secured. With the exception of Pennsylvania, all the other 
colonies followed Virginia's example and appointed such 
committees. This was another great step toward a definite 
and permanent union. 

The First Continental Congress. — During the nine years 
that elapsed between the Stamp Act Congress and the First 
Continental Congress, many interesting and stirring events 
happened. Several acts passed by Parliament to the end of 
raising money in the colonies were met with stubborn oppo- 
sition. This colonial opposition was met, in turn, by an 
equally stubborn resistance on .the part of the mother coun- 
try, and the already strained relations grew in bitterness 
and intensity. Finally, upon the recommendation of the 



THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL UNION 21 

general court of Massachusetts in which body Samuel 
Adams played a conspicuous part, the First Continental 
Congress was called to meet at Philadelphia, September 5, 
1774. Here strong declarations of rights were adopted; 
Massachusetts was upheld and support voted in her oppo- 
sition to British commercial acts ; an American Associa- 
tion for securing a general nonimportation and noncon- 
sumption agreement was organized ; and a recommenda- 
tion passed calling another Congress in May of the next 
year. Despite the fact that England frowned upon this 
gathering as revolutionary, all the colonies were repre- 
sented with the exception of Georgia. 

Second Continental Congress. — The Second Continental 
Congress convened in Independence Hall, Philadelphia, 
May 10, 1775. This time all the thirteen colonies were 
represented, and many of the greatest men known in Ameri- 
can history were among the delegates present. Possibly 
no other assembly of men in the history of the world has 
ever represented more wisdom and patriotism, or held a 
truer conception of right and justice than did the delegates 
to this Continental Congress. It was well that this was 
the case, for they had serious work before them : more 
serious than even many of them had anticipated. As it 
turned out, it was under their guidance that the war for 
colonial independence was to be fought and won. 

At the time this Congress convened, however, it was still 
generally believed that friendly relations with the mother 
country would ultimately be reestablished. Then came the 
battle of Lexington, and all hope of reconciliation seemed 
gone. If the colonists were to maintain their rights, it was 
apparent that they must fight for them. To that end 
Congress enlisted troops, raised funds, and appointed Wash- 



2 2 THE NATION 

ington as general of what was known as the " Army of the 
United States." In the words of Patrick Henry, " British 
oppression had effaced the boundaries of the several colo- 
nies," until " the distinctions between Virginians, Pennsyl- 
vanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders were no more." 
With the outbreak of war, the Continental Congress became 
the controlling authority over the united destinies of all the 
colonies which were soon to become states. 

The Declaration of Independence. — Though, even after 
the war began, the colonial leaders denied that separation 
from Great Britain was intended, the trend of sentiment 
was gradually toward independence. The innate stub- 
bornness of the British king, and the constant attempts of 
his ministers to force unjust political and economic measures 
upon the colonies, had caused such deep resentment that 
separation was inevitable. Nor can it be denied that 
personal ambition entered into the consideration also, for 
then, as now, there were politicians desiring more power 
and recognition than the narrow colonial life afforded. 

It is interesting to inquire into the status of affairs gov- 
ernmen tally, after armed resistance began. Was there a 
government in existence May 10, 1775? Was the power 
exercised in the colonies locally, aided by the executive and 
legislative powers of the Continental Congress, a real gov- 
ernment ; or does the national government date from the 
adoption of the Declaration of Independence ? Is the Union 
older than July 4, 1776? These are interesting questions 
and may be answered by the decision of the Supreme Court 
which later determined that the Union was established 
July 4, 1776. 

As has been said, plans for confederation and union were 
afoot even as early as 1775. In May, 1776, the Virginia 



THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL UNION 23 

convention instructed its delegates in Congress to vote for 
separation from England. On June 12, 1776, two important 
committees were appointed, — one to prepare a declaration 
of independence, and the other to draft a plan of confedera- 
tion and union. The committee selected to draw up the 
Declaration of Independence was composed of Thomas 
Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, 
and Robert Livingston. It reported to Congress June 
28, and Jefferson had the honor of having his draft 
approved with a few changes. The debate on the ques- 
tion of independence started on July 1. Considerable 
opposition was developed, since some men were not quite 
ready for so bold and heroic a step. John Dickinson, for 
example, great patriot though he was, was not in favor of 
independence yet. Nevertheless, after a few changes, the 
measure was passed July 4, and a few copies were signed 
by the president and the secretary of the Congress. On 
August 2, 1776, all other members present attached their 
names. 

The Declaration of Independence was a somewhat radical 
statement of political philosophy, combining a censure of the 
English king and the English people, an appeal for justice, 
and a declaration of freedom. Its terms were, necessarily, 
very strongly stated in order to arouse interest and sup- 
port. It was the climax of a long train of events leading to 
the legal formation of the American Union, and, as such, it 
will always merit careful respect and study. Its adoption 
gave the Revolution a definite and clearly defined aim. 
Briefly summed up, the Declaration of Independence may 
be said to have done the following : 

It changed the colonies into American commonwealths 
by severing the bonds that bound them to England ; 



24 THE NATION 

It made out of these states a Union, known as the United 
States of America ; 

It unified the desires and efforts of the colonies and 
brought about a concerted effort for independence ; 

It caused the states to reorganize their governments and 
adjust their laws in order to make them harmonize with the 
governmental authority expressed in the Declaration of 
Independence ; 

And finally it led to a complete overthrow of the rule of 
England and brought about the establishment of our great 
republic. 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

American History Leaflets : Nos. 7 and 14. 

Beer : British Colonial Policy, ch. VIII. 

Channing : Students' History of the United States, 131-166. 

Fiske : Civil Government, 201-205. 

Hart : Formation of the Union, 37-80. 

Hinsdale: American Government (4th ed.), ch. XII. 

James and Sanford : Government in State and Nation, rev. ed., 
ch. XII. 

Johnston and Woodburn: American Political History, I, chs. II, 
III. 

Lodge : English Colonies in America, 476-490. 

Lodge: Washington, I, 128-157. 

Morse : Benjamin Franklin, 100-203. 

Old South Leaflets : Nos. 41, 68. 

Source Material and Supplementary Aids. — Articles of the New 
England Confederation. Penn's Plan of Union. The Declaration 
of Rights, 1765. The Declaration of Independence. 



SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. How could colonial government be a school? 

2. What was the nature of the Fundamental Orders of Connecti- 
cut? 



THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL UNION 25 

3. What was the purpose of the New England Union? Arrange- 
ment for carrying on the government? Powers of the league? 
Reasons for failure ? 

4. Outline Penn's plan of Union. What was his scheme of raising 
taxes ? 

5. What was the English Board of Trade? The Board of Trade 
distrusted the governors. Why? 

6. Under the Albany plan of union how were members to be ap- 
portioned among the different colonies? What were the powers 
Franklin assigned the central government in this plan ? 

7. What was the real purpose of the Stamp Act? Why the strong 
protest against it from the colonists? What are the arguments for 
taxation by colonial assembly ? 

8. Origin of and work done by the Committees of Correspondence ? 

9. How were delegates to the first and second Continental Con- 
gresses chosen ? How paid ? 

10. The Continental Congress was executive, legislature, and judi- 
ciary until 1 78 1. Explain. How was diplomacy carried on by it? 

11. Indicate, historically, the trend toward the Declaration of 
Independence. How was it framed? In studying the document 
itself note the parts it falls into and at whom the different charges 
were directed. Were all the charges literally true? How was it a 
step toward union ? 

QUESTION FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That the defeat of the French by Great Britain in 1763 
was the chief cause of the American Revolution. 



CHAPTER III 
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED 

A New Scheme of Government Wanted. — It has been 
seen that America declared herself free through her Decla- 
ration of Independence. In reality, the Declaration merely 
expressed and asserted what already existed by war, and 
through the efforts of the Continental Congress. The 
Declaration in no way changed the status of the congress 
in session. It was merely an affirmation on its part of what 
the growing sentiment for national unity had forced upon 
it. It is worthy of our attention that these leaders did not 
provide for defeat, but at once planned for an effective 
scheme of government. In this plan of government the 
Congress would be an important factor, subject, however, 
to the American people's will. As previously stated, on 
June 12, 1776 when the committee was chosen to prepare 
the Declaration of Independence, there was also another 
committee appointed, composed of one member of Congress 
from each colony, to prepare a new plan of government 
in the nature of a confederation. Any plan would be 
experimental, and something constructive had to be done 
at once. 

Colonies Now New States. — Turning from the work of 
the federal or national Congress, it will be noted that one of 
the great results of the Declaration of Independence was 
that a new nation was announced, and the former colonies 
were declared to be states. It will be necessary to see what 

26 



THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED 27 

changes, if any, had taken place in the process of passing 
from a colony to a state, for the confederation which was 
agreed upon would depend on the state for its life and power. 
In 1775 Congress was called upon to advise Massachusetts 
and New Hampshire what to do for proper government, 
since their royal governors had left. The Congress then 
recommended a temporary arrangement. On May 15, 
1776, Congress recommended to all the colonies " to adopt 
such government as shall in the opinion of the representa- 
tives conduce to the happiness and safety of their con- 
stituents in particular, and of America in general." New 
Hampshire was the first new state to form a constitution ; 
Virginia also early framed one having a Bill of Rights, a 
Declaration of Independence, and a Plan of Government. 
By 1777 ten states had formed constitutions. It is inter- 
esting to note that, except in the case of Massachusetts in 
1780, these state constitutions were not submitted to the 
people for ratification. Connecticut and Rhode Island 
continued their charters with very slight changes. These 
constitutions provided for a plan of government from the 
governor down ; courts were reorganized on the old basis, 
and the judges were still appointive. 

These state governments gradually won the confidence of 
the people and soon wielded more influence than Congress it- 
self. This was due to the fact that they were more nearly 
under the direct control of the people. The state legislatures 
appointed the delegates to the Congress. What was the 
position of these new states relative to the Union? Were 
they older than the Union? Did they derive their power 
from it, and was it the Union that created them? These 
questions will be considered later. Whatever may be the 
answer to these questions, the newly formed Union clearly 



28 THE NATION 

could have amounted to nothing without the aid of state 
and local governments. 

The Articles of Confederation. — The colonial committee 
on government reported, July 12, through John Dickinson 
its chairman. From this date until November 15, 1777, the 
matter was discussed by Congress at intervals. It should 
be said that Franklin submitted a draft that differed in 
some essentials from that of the rest of the committee. His 
plan provided for the regulation of commerce by Congress ; 
for representation based on population, each representative 
to have one vote ; and for a plan for making amendments 
through their acceptance in a majority of colonial assemblies. 
As will be seen,- this plan is much stronger than the one 
adopted, and more nearly like our present constitution. 
Nothing came of the Franklin plan, however, and it was 
well that it was not adopted. Probably we should not have 
worked out our present constitution, had it gone through. 

Difficulties to Agreement. — To get order out of all the 
chaos, which war and revolution had brought on, was no 
easy task. In the Congress itself, system had to be evolved. 
Since it was meant to take the place of the British crown, 
and since it had denounced so many things in Great Britain's 
manner of ruling, Congress must originate new plans. 
Again, since the population of the various states was not 
known, each state appointed as many delegates as it 
pleased, and paid them what it pleased. The sessions had 
no time limitations, and sittings were indefinite. 

The delegation from each state, however, cast one vote. 
Many questions arose that caused long discussions and 
were hard to solve. Some of the most important were 
the following : How should revenue be raised and assessed? 
What about western land claims ? What powers shall the 



THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED 29 

general government have, and what shall be left to the 
states? How shall disputes between states in the union 
be settled? Instead of one vote to a state, should there 
not be proportional representation? Should not repre- 
sentation be based on the amount of money raised for the 
maintenance of the nation ? 

Settlement of Disputes. — After a long debate and many 
compromises, the Articles of Confederation were agreed 
to by Congress. Franklin had worked unceasingly for 
proportional representation, but the Articles left Congress 
with one vote for each state. Each state might send to 
Congress a maximum of seven delegates, who must decide 
among themselves how to cast that one vote. Taxation 
was left in a form allowing Congress to make requisitions 
or levies on the states. These assessments were to be in 
proportion to the value of lands in the several common- 
wealths. The question of control of territory was not 
clearly settled, though Congress was to regulate boundaries. 
A kind of clumsy arbitration court was set up to settle 
disputes between states, but no provision was made to 
settle differences between states and the national govern- 
ment. Some of the other more important powers given 
the Confederation, through Congress, were the exclusive 
right to make war and peace ; to make treaties and alli- 
ances ; to appoint courts for trial of marine affairs ; to 
fix a standard of weights and measures ; to regulate trade 
and manage all affairs with the Indians, who were not 
citizens of any state ; and the power to appoint all officers 
above regimental officers in the land forces, and all naval 
officers in the federal sendee. 

Ratification. — After the Articles were agreed upon, 
November 15, 1777, they had to be submitted to the states 



30 THE NATION 

for adoption. Many saw in the flaws of the new instru- 
ment a plan to establish a strong central union. It must 
be remembered that the colonies were fighting a life and 
death struggle with a strong centralized government. 
The western lands question proved the real stumbling 
block to the adoption of the Articles. Maryland stub- 
bornly held out against adoption until the other states 
agreed to cede their western land claims to the United 
States. This was agreed upon finally, and on March i, 
1 781, Maryland, the last state, ratified the Articles, which 
became the accepted plan of government of the United 
States. It will be noted that the greater part of the Revo- 
lution was fought, not under the Articles, but under the 
government of the continued sessions of the Second Con- 
tinental Congress. While a revolutionary body, this con- 
gress was none the less the national government, and was 
so recognized at home and abroad. 

The Plan of Government. — According to Article II, 
each state was to retain " its sovereignty, freedom, and 
independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right 
which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to 
the United States in Congress assembled." Sovereignty 
cannot be limited, and yet certain definite limitations were 
at once put on the states; e.g., no state could hold diplo- 
matic relations with foreign nations, or make alliances 
with such nations, without the consent of Congress. Many 
similar restrictions were put on the states subject to Con- 
gress. The union was declared to be perpetual. The plan 
was simple. A one-house legislature, called Congress, or 
" the United States in Congress assembled," exercised 
executive and judicial powers very similar to those already 
exercised by the Continental Congress since 1775. The 



THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED 3 1 

Congress provided for a president but, fearful of his power, 
minimized his term of office and authority greatly. Com- 
mittees were appointed to do the executive work ; a special 
committee being provided to sit during the recess of Con- 
gress. As this committee work had to be approved by the 
Congress as a whole, the system gradually led to the crea- 
tion of executive departments which became more or less 
permanent, and were carried over into the new government 
under the Constitution as cabinet positions. In the new 
plan of confederation legislative functions, executive func- 
tions, and, in a limited degree, as, for instance, in Article 
IX, some judicial functions were provided for. In 1781, a 
plan was drawn up for a federal court of appeals for all 
sorts of cases, but it was dropped. 

The Articles at Work. — At first much confidence was 
placed in the government, which stood as a basis of the 
new nationalism. Soon its weaknesses stood out boldly 
from the pressure and stress of war, which sorely tests 
any new government trying to learn its duties and functions. 
Particularly was this true after the surrender of Corn- 
wallis, when the nation felt sure of ultimate victory and 
peace. The common enemy gone, nationalism founded 
upon common interest relaxed. Gradually, the community 
and state interests predominated, local jealousy preventing 
united action. Administration of finances and the regu- 
lation of commerce caused more friction than any other 
matters. The government needed large sums of money 
at home and abroad, and had to depend on the good will 
of the states to get it. Some of the states often neglected 
to obey the call for funds, and would pay nothing. At- 
tempts to remedy these defects were made without suc- 
cess, as will be noted later. The states became involved 



32 THE NATION 

in frequent quarrels over questions of trade and similar 
contentions. Many difficult, vexing, and dangerous condi- 
tions threatened the liberties and rights of the whole people, 
due to the loose and defective government under which 
they operated. The Articles of Confederation, while 
faulty and inadequate, yet conferred a real and lasting 
benefit in serving as a kindergarten in federal government, 
from which leaders of thought gained experience and polit- 
ical wisdom for greater things. The leading defects may 
be summed up as follows : 

i. The Congress consisted of but one house. 

2. Congress could make certain laws, but could not 
enforce them. 

3. It could lay taxes for the ordinary expenses of the 
government, but could not enforce the payment of such 
taxes. 

4. It had no power to regulate foreign commerce, assess 
duties, or collect them. 

5. It had no power to enforce treaties. 

6. The authority of the Confederation of the thirteen 
colonies was subordinated to state sovereignty, hence 
there was no central power to settle differences between 
states. 

7. Each state, regardless of population, had but one 
vote. 

8. The Articles had no permanent and complete federal 
judiciary. 

9. The Articles could not be amended except by a unani- 
mous vote. 

By 1786, it became evident to the public mind, that the 
Articles of Confederation would have to be amended in 
order to correct the defects that existed. 



THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED 33 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

Ashley: American Government, 173-176. 

Bancroft: United States, V, 10-15; 200-208. 

Beard : American Government and Politics, ch. III. 

Channing : Students' History, ch. VI. 

Elson: United States, II, 139-142. 

Fish : The Development of American Nationality, ch. II. 

Fiske : Critical Period, 92-94 ; 187-222. 

Forman : Advanced Civics, 38-46. 

Garner: Government in the United States, 159-165. 

Hart : Formation of the Union, ch. V. 

Hinsdale: American Government (4th ed.), chs. V, VI. 

Johnston and Woodburn : American Political History, I, ch. IV. 

Johnston: American Politics, 3-18. 

McMaster : History of the People of the United States, I, 130-136 ; 

200-210. 

Strong and Shafer : Government of the American People, 127-147. 

Source Material and Supplementary Aid. — The Articles of 

Confederation. 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. Show the need of some sort of union after the Revolution started. 

2. Explain the process by which an English colony became an 
American state. 

3. How were the Articles of Confederation framed? Why was 
so long a time taken in framing them ? 

4. State essentials of the better plan of union proposed by Franklin, 
but rejected. 

5. Why were the states so long in accepting the Articles? 

6. Was there a limit of sovereignty on the states when they 
accepted the Articles ? How ? 

7. Outline the general plan of the government under the Articles. 
How could the Articles be amended ? 

8. Point out defects when the Articles were in force. 

QUESTION FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That the Articles of Confederation furnished a better 
form of government from 1 780-1 788, than would have been possible 
under the Constitution at that time. 



CHAPTER IV 
THE NEW CONSTITUTION AND ITS RATIFICATION 

Troubles among the States. — The supreme test of any 
government is its ability to levy and collect taxes without 
opposition and discontent, and to secure ready obedience to 
its laws. Peace had come to the new American nation, 
but it was not long before a disordered social condition 
arose. There were a good many reasons for this. Eng- 
land refused to yield possession of the far northern posts in 
our country as she had agreed, and further refused to make 
a commercial treaty with the young nation. Spain, who 
controlled the Mississippi River, openly plotted with the 
great West, the region between the Allegheny Mountains 
and the Mississippi, for secession from the United States 
and union with herself. There was much friction, in mat- 
ters of trade, between the two states on the Chesapeake 
Bay and the Potomac River. New Jersey quarreled with 
New York about customs duties, and Connecticut and 
Massachusetts were unfriendly for the same reason. As 
early as 1783, Pelatiah Webster set forth a most interesting 
scheme of national government which he felt would help 
conditions. In his plan he placed great emphasis on the 
point that a government must have power enough to do 
what it is created for. Thoughtful men began to consider 
changes in the Articles of Confederation. 

The Word " Convention." — The word "convention" 
is interesting since it has a different meaning in America 
from that in England. The word, it seems, was first used 

34 



THE NEW CONSTITUTION AND ITS RATIFICATION 35 

in this country in New Hampshire in 1691 ; since then it 
has passed through various meanings, supplanted at times 
by the word " congress," until finally, by the end of the 
Revolution, it almost always meant an assembly of men 
met to frame a constitution. 

The Alexandria and Annapolis Conventions. — As pre- 
viously stated, the commerce of the Potomac River and 
Chesapeake Bay had long caused friction between Maryland 
and Virginia. Delegates from those two states met at 
Alexandria in March, 1785, to try to come to an under- 
standing. At this meeting, uniform customs laws and 
currency laws were suggested, but it was seen at once that 
two states alone could do but little. The Virginia legis- 
lature then proposed another meeting for September, 1786, 
at Annapolis, and invited other states to attend. The 
result was disappointing, for only twelve delegates came, 
none from New England, and none from farther south 
than Virginia. Delegates from a few more states had 
been appointed but did not arrive in time, since those 
assembled waited only a few days and adjourned. The 
undue haste in adjourning has left a suspicion that perhaps 
the leaders had other plans than those this convention had 
been called for, viz., a uniform commercial system for the 
entire nation. Men like Madison and Hamilton must 
have seen that a complete change in government was 
inevitable. But even when the convention at Annapolis 
adjourned with a call for a new one to meet at Philadelphia, 
May 14, 1787, it was not deemed wise to say anything 
definitely about a new constitution, it being understood 
that the purpose was to devise such a government as 
would be " adequate to the exigencies of the Union." 
A patriotic appeal was sent with the call to all the state 



36 THE NATION 

legislatures and to Congress. Thus, out of dire necessity, 
was called the convention which finally gave us the greatest 
constitution ever known in history. 

Internal Dissensions. — It is an interesting study to see 
how good may come occasionally from so lawless 
and dangerous a thing as a mob. Congress had been 
humiliated and driven from Philadelphia in 1783 by an 
insolent rabble. In the fall of 1786 it, or rather the govern- 
ment it represented, was again humiliated by a mob much 
more formidable. This was Shays's rebellion in Massa- 
chusetts, which in the winter of 1 786-1 787 upset courts 
and terrorized the state. The utter weakness of Congress 
is shown in its attempt to aid Massachusetts secretly by 
ordering troops thither under pretext of protection against 
Indians. Could troops be legally raised when Congress 
was not to raise troops in time of peace? Could they in- 
vade the sovereign state of Massachusetts? This is one 
of two great events happening between the Annapolis 
convention and the one called at Philadelphia which helped 
determine the fate of the Articles of Confederation. The 
other event was the New York legislature's refusal, Febru- 
ary 15, 1787, to allow Congress to levy duties on commerce 
after the twelve other states had agreed. So utterly help- 
less was Congress to meet these emergencies now, that it 
; could do nothing but sanction the call for the Philadelphia 
convention, which it did February 21, 1787. It should 
be noted, however, that its resolution in sanctioning the 
Philadelphia convention was " for the sole and express 
purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation, and report- 
ing to Congress and the several Legislatures such altera- 
tions and provisions " as when agreed to by them, would 
preserve the union. 



THE NEW CONSTITUTION AND ITS RATIFICATION 37 

The Constitutional Convention. — All the states re- 
sponded to the call for the Philadelphia Convention except 
Rhode Island. As before stated, the date set was May 14, 
1787, but owing in the main to the difficulties of travel 
in those days a majority of the delegates did not arrive 
until the twenty-fifth of the month, those from New 
Hampshire not until July 23. It was indeed a notable 
assemblage. The members, fifty-five in all, who sat in 
the convention at one time or another, represented the best 
intelligence in America. George Washington was unani- 
mously elected president. John Dickinson, the venerable 
Franklin, Hamilton, Madison, Gouverneur Morris, Edmund 
Randolph, and Roger Sherman, and over twoscore others, 
only a little less than they in foresight and prestige, were 
members of this convention. If these men failed in the 
task of forming an acceptable and permanent union among 
the quarreling states, it would seem to be beyond the wis- 
dom of men to accomplish. From the secretary's (Jack- 
son's) minutes little information is to be learned concerning 
the proceedings ; we owe much, however, to James Madi- 
son's Notes, which were published long afterward. From 
them a clear and authentic account of the trend of events 
— the gist of the speeches, the debates, and the conten- 
tions — may be gleaned. At the outset it was voted to 
hold the meetings in secret, and that each state was to be 
allowed one vote on all measures proposed. 

From the first, almost, it was plain that the sense of the 
convention was that the Articles of Confederation were 
inadequate, and that a new plan of government must be 
drawn up. The general trend had been constantly toward 
a stronger central power. Some of the leaders early sub- 
mitted suggestions that showed that they had been look- 



38 THE NATION 

ing toward this end since the time of the convention at 
Annapolis. On May 29, Governor Randolph of Virginia 
introduced fifteen resolutions proposing a new government. 
The plan was really Madison's. The first resolution was 
as follows : " Resolved, That it is the opinion of this 
committee that a national government ought to be es- 
tablished consisting of a supreme legislature, executive, 
and judiciary." Thus the convention soon forgot the 
instructions of Congress that the Articles of Confederation 
should be amended, and began to consider and plan for a 
new government for the United States. From that hour 
it had no legal status, and was a revolutionary body. 

Problems. — Before considering further the various 
plans submitted for a new national government, some of 
the difficulties and problems that confronted the convention 
should be noted. If a national government were created, 
how should the states stand in the matter of representation ? 
Here at once appeared a seemingly hopeless conflict of 
ideas. If a national government, with general control 
and supervision of the states through representation, were 
organized, that government would derive its power and 
influence through the amount of representation given. If 
this representation be based on the amount of taxes paid 
into the United States Treasury, as some suggested, or on 
the number of people, it is obvious that the small states 
would have little influence in the government. 

On the other hand, it was argued that, as others proposed, 
it would not be fair to let a small state like New Jersey 
count as heavily in a National Congress as Virginia, to 
which argument the small states replied that in a confedera- 
tion the unit is the state, and since the state is sovereign 
all are hence equal regardless of size. Slavery, also, was 



THE NEW CONSTITUTION AND ITS RATIFICATION 39 

long a stumbling block. If direct taxes had to be levied, 
should they be on the whites only or on slaves as well? 
It soon developed that the Southern states wanted slaves 
counted as part of the total population for purposes of 
representation but exempted for purposes of national 
taxation — an obvious paradox. Again, there were almost 
innumerable ideas proposed as to the nature and duties 
of the executive, while the plans for the legislature and 
the courts were quite as numerous and varied. It seemed 
a well-nigh hopeless task to get a government with powers 
properly balanced between nation and state. Earnestness, 
perseverance, and compromise finally prevailed in spite 
of the fact that several delegates early became disgusted 
and went home. 

The Virginia Plan. — The Virginia plan presented by 
Governor Randolph was first submitted, as were all others, 
to the committee of the whole. It provided for a sort of 
federal-national union with three coordinate branches : 
an executive to be chosen by the national congress ; an 
elective congress of two houses based on representation, 
and a judiciary to be appointed by the congress, — all 
having jurisdiction over the people at large. This plan of 
government, which would have centered the power in more 
densely populated sections, was supported by the six larger 
states, but bitterly attacked in turn by the delegates from 
the other five states represented. 

New Jersey Plan. — On June 15, Paterson of New 
Jersey introduced his plan, which would have continued 
the scheme of government with amendments under the 
Articles of Confederation. It provided for a plural execu- 
tive, appointed by a congress of one house and for a judi- 
ciary appointed by the executive. It gave each state one 



40 THE NATION 

vote in Congress and so enlarged the powers of that body 
that it could raise revenue, regulate commerce, and coerce 
the states. For some days this plan was vigorously de- 
bated; many objections to it being raised, especially to 
the part relating to coercing states, it died in the end. It 
was rejected by the influence of the larger states. In the 
meantime other plans like that of Charles Pinckney of 
South Carolina, submitted about the same time as the 
Virginia plan to which it was very similar, and one by 
Alexander Hamilton of New York advocating extreme 
centralization, had all been referred to the committee of 
the whole. 

The Compromise Plan. — After the various plans had 
been submitted and debated, the general outline of the 
Virginia scheme seemed to be most favored. But the 
alarm of the smaller states was such that the larger 
states did not dare to attempt its adoption without many 
changes. On June 29, some of the Connecticut delegates 
proposed a sort of union of the Virginia and New Jersey 
plans by providing that the legislature should be made 
bicameral, the House of Representatives to be elected 
on the basis of population, but each state to have equal 
representation in the Senate. This is sometimes called 
the Connecticut compromise, and was a fortunate stroke. 
So jealous were the smaller states of their rights, that a 
specific clause was inserted, forever guaranteeing equal 
suffrage in the upper house. 

Great Compromises. — This manner, just given, of 
settling the representation in Senate and House, was the 
first great compromise, and smoothed the way for others. 
Connected with this was the agreement that all bills of 
revenue should originate in the House. The next com- 



THE NEW CONSTITUTION AND ITS RATIFICATION 4 1 

promise, which pertained to the counting of slaves for 
representation and the levying of direct taxes, was settled 
by what is known as the federal ratio, whereby three fifths of 
the slaves were reckoned in apportioning to the states 
direct taxation and representation in the lower house. 
The third compromise hinged on the power to regulate 
commerce and the slave trade. The general opinion had 
been that Congress must have complete control over com- 
merce as the only solution to the difficulties arising there- 
from. Two Southern states emphatically demanded the 
protection of the slave trade. Finally- it was agreed to 
give Congress power over commerce, with the proviso 
that trade in slaves should not be prohibited prior to 1808. 
Congress was also empowered to impose a ten dollar tax 
on each imported slave, but it never exercised that power. 
Detail. — After the great questions above mentioned 
were settled, the rest of the work was much easier. A 
Committee on Detail was elected to draft a constitution 
embodying the ideas agreed upon. Their report was 
debated upon for a few weeks, amended, and turned over 
to a new Committee on Style, to arrange the articles and 
put in definite language the ideas of the convention. To 
Gouverneur Morris, a member of the committee, more 
than to any one else belongs the credit for the clear, vigor- 
ous phraseology in which the instrument is written. In 
due time the Committee on Style reported the Constitu- 
tion, which it sent to Congress on September 12 accom- 
panied by a letter. Three days later it was engrossed, 
its final amendments added, and signed, — all states con- 
curring by the seventeenth. Of the forty-two delegates 
present, but three, Gerry, Mason, and Randolph, refused 
to attach their signatures. The greatest written consti- 



42 THE NATION 

tution ever formulated was ready for adoption. It re- 
mained yet to be accepted by nine of the states before it 
should go into effect. 

Report of the Constitutional Convention. — The follow- 
ing resolution, adopted by the constitutional convention, 
together with a copy of the proposed new constitution and 
a letter from General Washington, president of the conven- 
tion, was sent to the Continental Congress : — 

"In Convention, Monday, September 17, 1787. 

"Resolved, That the preceding Constitution be laid before 
the United States in Congress assembled, and that it is the 
opinion of this convention that it should afterward be submitted 
to a convention of delegates, chosen in each state by the people 
thereof, under the recommendation of its legislature, for their 
assent and ratification; and that each convention assenting to 
and ratifying the same, should give notice thereof to the United 
States in Congress assembled. 

"Resolved, That it is the opinion of this convention that as 
soon as the conventions of nine states shall have ratified this 
Constitution, the United States in Congress assembled should 
fix a day on which electors should be appointed by the states 
which shall have ratified the same, and a day on which the 
electors should assemble to vote for the President, and the time 
and place for commencing proceedings under this Constitution. 
That after such publication the electors should be appointed 
and the Senators and Representatives elected ; that the 
electors should meet on the day fixed for the election of the 
President, and should transmit their votes, certified, signed, 
sealed, and directed, as the Constitution requires, to the Secre- 
tary of the United States in Congress assembled; that the 
Senators and Representatives should convene at the time and 
place assigned ; that the Senators should appoint a President 
of the Senate for the sole purpose of receiving, opening, and 



THE NEW CONSTITUTION AND ITS RATIFICATION 43 

counting the votes for the President ; and that, after he shall 
be chosen, the Congress, together with the President, should, 
without delay, proceed to execute this Constitution. 
" By the unanimous order of the Convention, 

" George Washington, President. 
" William Jackson, Secretary." 

The Constitution with Congress. — The Constitution 
was a revolutionary document. It had violated the pro- 
vision of the Articles of Confederation providing that no 
change in government could be made until first agreed 
to by Congress, the same to be confirmed by the legisla- 
ture of every state. Congress was jealous of the new order 
of things and debated the matter for eight days. Some 
members even proposed amendments to the Constitution, 
but they were not agreed to. Finally, with none too good 
grace and with little enthusiasm, Congress adopted the 
following resolution on September 29, 1787 : — 

" Resolved, unanimously, That the said report, with the 
resolutions and letter accompanying the same, be transmitted 
to the several Legislatures in order to be submitted to a con- 
vention of delegates chosen in each state by the people thereof, 
in conformity to the resolves of the convention made and pro- 
vided in that case." 

Origin and Nature of the Constitution. — Professor Max 
Farrand of Yale holds that the provision in the Constitu- 
tion regarding impeachment is about the only thing that 
was new, and that all else was gathered through colonial 
experience and from that of the states to 1787. This as a 
general truth is readily admitted, for, while it is doubtless 
true that the Constitution remedied the defects of the 
Articles of Confederation, it seems just as certain that it was 
the definite expression of an evolution and natural growth 



44 THE NATION 

in ideas of government. But, if the Constitution is a com- 
pilation of experiences nearly all of which had been tried out 
in some colony or young state, it was such experience applied 
to a newer and much broader field, and therefore, it was 
constructive and not merely remedial. It is true the Con- 
stitution was not a definitely logical document, for it was 
full of compromises, but, such as it was, it declared itself to 
be the " supreme law of the land." 

Gladstone was wrong, as has been shown, when he stated 
that the Constitution was hastily written and was struck 
off hurriedly by the mind of man ; so was Sir Henry Maine, 
when he denominated it " a modified version of the British 
Constitution." Some of the most essential features of 
the scheme of government were entirely local to America, 
as witness the following : — 

The idea of the Supreme Court, which is recognized to-day 
as one of the greatest human institutions and the very 
keystone to the stability and working power of the whole 
Constitution, undoubtedly came from a council of revision 
in New York which possessed the power to veto the 
legislature's acts; from the state judiciary, and from 
the power of the English Privy Council to veto colonial 
laws, when it felt that such laws were contrary to those 
of England. 

In Maryland, there was a small body with a long term of 
service called the Senate ; also, an electoral college to elect 
the senators. From this came the idea embodied in our 
national Senate. 

The idea of the veto given to the President was borrowed 
from Massachusetts, as was also the plan of impeachment. 

Bicameral legislatures and a single executive existed 
in nearly all of the colonies. 



THE NEW CONSTITUTION AND ITS RATIFICATION 45 

Was the Union Inseparable. — Before the constitutional 
convention met James Madison conceived the idea that 
the states must not be recognized as sovereign and inde- 
pendent, since this idea was irreconcilable with national 
sovereignty. Local authority should not be subverted, 
however, when useful. However, once in the union, a 
state could not withdraw. 1 The Articles of Confederation 
made a perpetual Union. The preamble of the Constitu- 
tion speaks of forming " a more perfect Union," doubtlessly 
meaning a stronger one than had existed under the Articles. 
This, taken with the idea that no government prepares for 
its own dissolution, would seem to lead to the conclusion 
that the Union was inseparable and indissoluble. The 
question of leaving the Union after once being admitted 
a member, received little attention at the time of the 
ratification of the Constitution by the states, and it was 
fortunate it did. The subject may have been purposely 
avoided by the framers, since it would have been dangerous. 
It was tacitly admitted, however, that a state convention 
for ratifying the Constitution could vote " no " and then 
reconsider its vote ; but if it voted " yes," could not change. 
On the other hand, had it been clearly stated that once in 
the Union a state could not withdraw, the Constitution 
would almost certainly have been rejected. 

Union and States Indissolubly Connected. — But the 
Union could not be thought of apart from the states. There 
never was a time when any state was free and sovereign, 
and yet there is no conscious idea of union older than the 
states. Lincoln's statement that the union was older 
than the states, could have been true only in a moral and 
sentimental sense. Sovereignty cannot be divided or 

1 Hunt : Madison, II, 336, 344, 361. 



46 THE NATION 

limited, and yet the states calling themselves sovereign 
had divided their asserted sovereignty and limited their 
powers under the Articles of Confederation. If, now, 
the state is established as a definite recognized unit, and it 
creates and establishes a union through ratifying a constitu- 
tion with other states, at first thought it would seem that 
such a state might revoke that ratification. The work of 
the convention at Philadelphia was, from one standpoint, 
a revolutionary illegal proceeding, and the Constitution 
therefore a revolutionary document. But when the self- 
styled sovereign states accepted this document, they thereby 
again limited their sovereignty in many directions. The 
logical conclusion is that it does not matter whether the state 
called itself sovereign prior to this or not, nor does it matter 
whether the Union or the state is older, for under this new' 
scheme of things, both started out together in an entirely 
new relation. The nature and the purpose of the Con- 
stitution were fully discussed in the ratifying conventions. 
In these discussions it appears clear that, while nearly 
everybody was ready for a change from the Articles of 
Confederation, the idea of many was that the new govern- 
ment was an experiment which, if found unsatisfactory, 
could be discarded. The idea of a strong central govern- 
ment, of a national, indivisible, and indestructible Union, 
was an evolution and a historical outgrowth. 

The Ratification. — Article VII provided that the accept- 
ance of nine states should make the Constitution binding, 
that being the number requisite for its adoption. Before 
its adoption, it was lifeless and helpless. In asking for its 
ratification by conventions in the several states, the con- 
stitutional convention asked for something illegal accord- 
ing to the Articles ; but in so doing, they got the Constitu- 



THE NEW CONSTITUTION AND ITS RATIFICATION 47 

tion, in most cases, before a state's ablest and most pro- 
gressive men. 

The Supreme Court of the United States has decided 
that our Union really started July 4, 1776. According to 
that view the Union is in actual fact older than the states. 
This is not true historically, for the Union, as we use the term 
now, was not born until all the colonies, beginning with New 
Hampshire in 1775, had drawn up state governments and 
state constitutions. Moreover, it was necessary that nine of 
these former colonies should be changed into states and agree 
to the Constitution, which was not framed until 1787. 

Between December, 1787, and June, 1788, ten states 
ratified' the Constitution. New Hampshire was the ninth 
state, followed in a few days by Virginia. This made the 
Constitution binding. When the document had come 
before the public for ratification, there was at once an out- 
burst of opposition. All sorts of objections were made ; 
some sensible, others absurd. Many men who defended it, 
did so less from full confidence in it than they did from the 
belief that it was expedient to take it as the best obtain- 
able. The ablest opponents were Patrick Henry, George 
Mason, George Clinton, Richard Henry Lee, and Elbridge 
Gerry. Defending it in able articles in " The Federalist," 
were Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, who were aided in its 
defense by the influence of Washington and John Marshall. 

Principal Objections to the Constitution. — Chief among 
the objections urged against the Constitution were the 
following : — 

1. It formed too centralized a national government. 

2. It gave too little democracy to the states, especially 
in forbidding the issue of paper money as legal tender. 

3. It had no bill of rights. 



48 THE NATION 

4. It had no plan for acquiring new lands. 

5. No religious test was required for office holding. 

The friends of the Constitution were called Federalists, 
and the opponents Anti-Federalists, thus giving rise to 
our first two political parties. The friends of the Con- 
stitution won, though only after a bitter fight in several 
states like New York ; Massachusetts, where Samuel 
Adams and John Hancock had to be converted to the 
Constitution ; and Virginia, where Lee and Henry vigor- 
ously opposed its adoption. North Carolina remained 
out of the Union until November, 1789, and Rhode Island 
until May, 1 790. The Constitution as adopted was scarcely 
in operation when the first ten amendments were attached. 
These silenced most of the criticism against it. 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

American History Leaflets: Nos. 8, 18, 28, 30. 
Ashley : American Government, ch. XV. 
Beard : American Government and Politics, ch. III. 
Channing : Students' History, ch. VI. 
Elliott : Debates, Volumes II-IV. 
Elson : United States, II, ch. XVII. 

Fish : The Development of American Nationality, ch. III. 
Fiske: Critical Period, 229-262. 
Fiske : Civil Government, ch. VII. 
Forman : Advanced Civics, ch. VII. 
Garner: Government in the United States, 165-173. 
Hart : Actual Government, 49-61. 
Hinsdale: American Government (4th ed.), chs. V-X. 
Johnston and Woodburn : American Political History, chs. V-VI. 
Journals of Congress, Volume IV. 
Kaye: Readings in Civil Government, 31-50. 
Schouler: United States, I, 34-78. 

Source Material and Supplementary Aids. — The Constitution. 
Elliot's Debates. The Federalist. 



THE NEW CONSTITUTION AND ITS RATIFICATION 49 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. State internal and foreign troubles the government had from 
1783-1787. 

2. Attempts to amend the Articles of Confederation. Why did 
these attempts fail ? 

3. How were delegates chosen to the constitutional convention at 
Philadelphia ? What were their specific instructions ? 

4. What was the attitude of Congress toward the convention ? 

5. Does it seem that plans were laid to overthrow the Articles \ 
before the convention convened at Philadelphia? Why? 

6. Hard problems of the convention ? 

7. What in brief was the Virginia plan? The New Jersey plan? 
The Compromise plan ? 

8. Why was there such jealousy between the large and the small 
states ? 

9. What were the great compromises of the Constitution ? 

10. Why was there feeling between the North and the South in 
the convention ? 

n. What were the sources of the Constitution? 

12. Was the question of a state's sovereignty raised when it ratified 
the Constitution ? Did a state surrender more or less sovereign power 
under the Constitution than when it accepted the Articles ? 

13. In what sense was the constitutional convention at Phila- 
delphia a revolutionary, illegal body? 

14. Does it matter whether the Union or the state is the older? 
Why? 

15. How was the Constitution ratified? By whom opposed? 
How could it be amended ? 

16. What were the leading objections to it? 

17. Is it well to have made it so hard to amend the Constitution? 
Why? 

QUESTION FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That the Constitution should have specifically stated 
the Union to be indissoluble and supreme. 



CHAPTER V 

PUTTING THE NEW GOVERNMENT INTO OPERATION 

The Enacting Resolution 

Proceedings of Congress. — When Congress learned 
that New Hampshire had ratified the Constitution, making 
the nine states necessary for its adoption, it was resolved 
by that body that a committee should examine into the 
various ratifications and " report an act for putting the 
said Constitution into operation." 

This committee having duly reported, Congress adopted 
the following resolution on September 13, 1788: — 

" That the first Wednesday in January next be the day for 
appointing Electors in the several states, which, before the said 
day, shall have ratified the said Constitution; that the first 
Wednesday in February next be the day for the Electors to 
assemble in their respective states and vote for a President; 
and that the first Wednesday in March next be the time, and 
the present seat of Congress the place, for commencing the 
proceedings under the said Constitution.' ' 

The first Wednesday fell upon March 4, and the presi- 
dential and congressional terms have ever since begun on 
that date. The date was confirmed by the Twelfth 
Amendment, which was adopted in 1804. 

Presidential Electors. — Eleven states were entitled to 
choose electors to vote for President, but the legislature of 

50 



PUTTING THE NEW GOVERNMENT INTO OPERATION 5 1 

New York was unable to agree upon a plan for choosing 
them and thus lost its vote. The other ten states selected 
electors, and these, sixty-nine in all, voted unanimously 
for Washington. Fearing Washington might fail of elec- 
tion, many electors scattered their second ballots so that 
John Adams, who ran second for the office, and hence under 
the original provision was declared Vice President, received 
only thirty-four votes. The electoral college scheme worked 
awkwardly and became a machine for party bosses in the 
very first election. 

The New Congress. — Congress under the Articles died 
slowly. It had had but little vitality for some years pre- 
ceding the change in government, and often had found it 
difficult to get or keep a quorum. On foreign affairs it 
could do little, and after it saw the change coming it shifted 
responsibility over to its successor. State legislatures 
chose the senators as provided in the Constitution. The 
time and the manner of electing members to the new 
House of Representatives was in the hands of the states. 
Some put the congressmen on a general ticket ; others used 
the district method from the start. Only four states got 
their representatives to New York by March 4, and there 
was no quorum until April i, when the House was duly 
organized. The Senate did not organize until April 6. 
On that day, the two houses met and counted the elec- 
toral votes for President. The first act on the statute 
book, prescribing a form of oath, was passed on June 1, 
1789. 

The Federal Courts. — The courts could not organize 
until a statute was passed authorizing their doing so. This 
was done September 24, 1789. Two grades of inferior 
courts were created : the district court and the circuit 



52 THE NATION 

court. United States attorneys and marshals were ap- 
pointed in the different states, and the manner of appealing 
from the state to the federal courts was defined. A chief 
justice and five associate justices comprised the Supreme 
Court ; thirteen district and three circuit courts were 
provided for, and the judicial machinery of the new Con- 
stitution was then in motion. 

Organization Completed. — With the election and the 
inauguration of the executive, the Congress elected and in 
session, and the court machinery spread out over the na- 
tion and at work, the first great strides toward getting 
the governmental machinery in motion had been taken. 
The tusk was naturally a great one and required skill and 
patience, for there were few precedents to follow. Soon 
cabinet departments were created, collectors of the cus- 
toms appointed, foreign ambassadors and consuls named, 
and steps were taken at once to raise revenue by a tariff, 
and by tonnage and excise duties. Arrangements were 
made also for the payment of debts and to provide for the 
running expenses of the government. The states quickly 
adjusted their constitutions and governments to harmonize 
with the national government, and the country grew 
peaceful and prosperous. By the end of Washington's 
first term of office the people were accustomed to the 
new government, which bore on them lightly and with 
little friction, and the Constitution and the republic were 
safe. 

It will now be our duty to examine the Constitution more 
carefully and see what it meant and how it has been in- 
terpreted in the light of experience. Its success or failure 
naturally depended on results obtained as time and the 
nation moved forward. 



PUTTING THE NEW GOVERNMENT INTO OPERATION 53 

The Enacting Clause 
the national government 

" We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more 
perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide 
for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the 
blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and 
establish this Constitution of the United States of America." 

The Opening Statement of the Constitution. — The intro- 
ductory paragraph, which is usually called the " preamble," 
is a vital part of the Constitution. It is more than a 
preamble, it is also an enacting clause which ordains 
the Constitution in the name of the people, and gives a 
recognized name to the government which the Constitution 
forms. A preamble only sets forth reasons for the estab- 
lishment of a statute, and is not a vital part of the statute 
itself, but the first sentence of the Constitution is an or- 
ganic and necessary part of the Constitution of the United 
States. " We, the people," raised the question, " who are 
the people? " Patrick Henry wanted the Constitution to 
start with " We, the states," but it was probably intended 
to mean the citizens of the United States who got a chance 
to exercise a vote in ratifying the Constitution in the several 
state-ratifying conventions. 

The enacting clause in an interesting and concise way 
gave six reasons for establishing our government : — 

1. To form a more perfect union. — The government 
under the Articles of Confederation was unsatisfactory 
and had failed to secure the confidence, cooperation, and 
union of all the people. The constitutional convention 
desired to bring the people together in a stronger union. 
Well they knew that this could be done only by recognizing 



54 THE NATION 

the natural rights that belonged to the nation, to the state, 
and to the citizen, and by making each citizen in each 
state of this Union a sovereign with the power of exercising 
his divine rights and privileges. 

2. To establish justice. — The government failed to 
establish justice under the Articles of Confederation. A 
national judiciary was needed to interpret the laws and 
to restrain selfish legislation. Without national authority 
to pass upon the constitutionality of statutes and enact- 
ments, and to interpret the laws, injustice would often be 
done. There can be no justice in a free government with- 
out a judiciary, for without it each individual would be 
a judge unto himself, and his interpretation of the law would 
be biased by his desire to obey or to ignore it. 

3. To insure domestic tranquility. — Domestic conten- 
tions in various forms had existed among the different 
states and various interests in the same state. The great 
men who framed the Constitution realized the danger of 
dissensions; hence they were desirous of securing peace 
and concord among the warring elements throughout the 
country. 

4. To provide for the common defense. — - Under the 
Articles of Confederation, the federal government had no 
power to collect taxes, to raise armies, or provide for navies. 
The framers of the Constitution knew that one of the 
most important questions to be considered was the one relat- 
ing to the " common defense." They knew also that a 
nation could not secure proper respect and command an 
important position in international questions and disputes, 
unless it built about itself not only a noteworthy national 
character, but had power to provide for a strong and well- 
disciplined army and navy. 



PUTTING THE NEW GOVERNMENT INTO OPERATION 55 

5. To promote the general welfare. — It is the theory 
of government that it is a nation's duty, not only to protect 
the people in their civil rights, but to offer every citizen an 
opportunity to develop the highest mental, spiritual, and 
physical culture possible, and the chance to gain wealth. 
In short, the perpetuity of any government depends very 
largely upon how well it looks after the " general welfare " 
of all the people composing the nation. 

6. To secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and 
our posterity. — Liberty emanates from the self-reliance of 
sovereign man, implanted in him by his Creator. This 
knowledge of power and natural rights is the greatest 
safeguard that was ever thrown around a free institution. 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

Ashley: American Government, 183-188. 
Bancroft : United States, VI. (See index.) 
Bryce: American Commonwealth, I, 3d ed., chs. II-IV. 
Channing: Students' History, 257-273. 
Elson: United States II, 166-180. 
Fish : Development of American Nationality, ch. IV. 
Hart : Formation of the Union, 140-155. 
Hinsdale: American Government (4th ed.), chs. XI, XII. . 
James and Sanford: Government in State and Nation, rev. ed., 
ch. XIII. 

Johnston and Woodburn : American Political History, ch. VII. 
Source Material and Supplementary Aid. — The Constitution. 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. State the attitude of the old Congress towards the organization 
of the new government. 

2. How was the President chosen? Did the electoral college work 
as expected ? Why ? 

3. The organization of the new Congress. How done, and why so 
slow? 



56 THE NATION 

4. How was the federal judiciary organized? Why did it take a 
congressional statute to organize it ? 

5. What principal things were necessary before the whole federal 
machinery was in action? 

6. Note the provisions of the enacting clause and state what each 
means. 

QUESTION FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That in the enacting clause of the Constitution it 
would have been better to have the words " we, the states," instead 
of " we, the people." 



CHAPTER VI 

THE LAW-MAKING DEPARTMENT. THE COMPOSI- 
TION, WORK, AND ORGANIZATION OF THE TWO 
HOUSES OF CONGRESS 

Article I, Sec. i. — -All legislative powers herein granted shall be 
vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a 
Senate and a House of Representatives. 

The Three Departments of National Government. — 

The work of the government is accomplished through three 
departments : — 

i. Congress — the Law-making. 

2. The President — the Law-enforcing. 

3. The Federal Courts — the Law-interpreting. 

The greatest constitutional statesmen have never been 
able to make a complete and absolute separation in the 
exercise of these three powers. Each department serves 
as a check on the others, and, like each division of the 
human mind, is an inseparable, organic part of the whole. 
The success of our fathers in creating three departments 
with certain independent and natural functions to perform, 
and, at the same time, in making each one an important 
and intermingled part of the organic whole, is regarded by 
the best thinkers and writers as a long step toward the 
highest possible political achievement. 

We quote the constitutional authority for the three 
divisions of our government : — 

57 



58 THE NATION 

Article i. All Legislative powers herein granted shall 
be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall 
consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. 

Article 2. The Executive power shall be vested in a 
President of the United States of America who shall hold 
his office for a term of four years. 

Article 3. The Judicial power of the United States 
shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior 
courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and 
establish. 

A Congress of Two Houses. — The members of the con- 
stitutional convention had learned by experience the ad- 
vantage of a bicameral law-making body, differently 
composed and selected. At that time, most of the states 
had legislatures consisting of two houses, which plan had 
proved on the whole satisfactory. Such is the system in 
the United States law-making department to-day. Under 
this arrangement there is more deliberation in the making 
of laws : one house serves as a check on the other in pre- 
venting hasty legislation in times of great political excite- 
ment. 

Congress consists of the House of Representatives and 
the Senate. Each Congress lasts two years. The first 
Congress continued from Wednesday, March 4, 1789, to 
March 4, 1791. The fifty-first Congress held office from 
1 889-1 89 1 ; the sixty-third from 1913 to 1915. The 
Constitution requires that a Congress shall meet in no less 
than two sessions. When, in the opinion of the President, 
there is national business of sufficient importance to require 
immediate attention, he may call one or more special ses- 
sions of Congress. During the fortieth Congress there were 
three special and two regular sessions, making five sessions 



THE LAW -MAKING DEPARTMENT 59 

during the two years. Congress has fixed the first Monday 
in December as the time of meeting, but the time may be 
changed by law. The regular order is a long and a short 
session of each Congress. The long session convenes on 
the first Monday in the second December following the 
election of national representatives ; and the short session 
lasts from the time Congress meets again, in the following 
December, until the next fourth of March at noon. The 
long session ends in even and the short session in odd years. 
The place of meeting of Congress is not fixed by the Con- 
stitution. This is done by a federal law. 

Sec. 2, Clause i. — The House of Representatives shall be com- 
posed of members chosen every second year by the people of the 
several States ; and the electors in each State shall have the qualifica- 
tions requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State 
Legislature. 

Election of National Representatives. — Representatives 
are elected every two years by the people on the first 
Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The Con- 
stitution of the United States authorizes citizens in each 
state, who vote for state representatives to vote also for 
national representatives. Each state has the privilege 
of determining who shall vote for national representatives, 
but, at the same time, a limitation is placed upon the power 
of the state by declaring " The electors in each state shall 
have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most 
numerous branch of the state legislature." Under this 
restriction, if the state should attempt to change and 
modify the qualifications of the voters for the most numer- 
ous branch of its own general assembly, it would in the 
same manner impose similar conditions upon its voters 



60 THE NATION 

for congressmen. The qualifications of the voters in the 
different states is not uniform, and the only limitation to a 
state's determining a voter's qualifications is the Fifteenth 
Amendment. 

Sec. 2, Clause 2. — No person shall be a Representative who 
shall not have attained to the age of twenty-jive years, and been seven 
years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, 
be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. 

Qualification of Representatives. — The constitutional 
convention used great care in defining the qualifications of 
persons who hold office in the various departments of gov- 
ernment. In naming the qualifications of the national 
representatives, great emphasis was placed upon experi- 
ence, citizenship, patriotism, and residence. An age limit 
was imposed in order to insure experience and give the candi- 
date for the high office time to build his character, make 
preparation, define his views on public questions, impress 
his life upon the community, and gain the love, esteem, and 
confidence of the public. Under this qualification, an 
alien could not become a representative in less than twelve 
years' residence in the United States, as it requires five 
years for him to become a naturalized citizen, after which 
he would have to be a citizen of the United States for seven 
years. The candidate to be eligible to this office must also 
be an inhabitant of the state from which he is elected, 
though he may live in a different congressional district 
from the one from which he is elected. In cases of dispute 
the House decides whether any one claiming to be a mem- 
ber is regularly elected and legally qualified. In the fifty- 
sixth Congress, a member from Utah was excluded for 
polygamy. 



THE LAW-MAKING DEPARTMENT 6 1 

Sec. 2, Clause 3. — Representatives and direct taxes l shall 
be apportioned among the several States which may be included 
within this Union, according to their respective numbers, which shall 
be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, includ- 
ing those bound to service for a term of years, a?td excluding Indians 
not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration 
shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress 
of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, 
in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of Repre- 
sentatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each 
State shall have at least one Representative ; and until such enumera- 
tion shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to 
choose three; Massachusetts, eight; Rhode Island and Providence 
Plantations, one; Connecticut, five; New York, six; New Jersey, 
four; Pennsylvania, eight; Delaware, one; Maryland, six; Vir- 
ginia, ten; North Carolina, five; South Carolina, five; and 
Georgia, three. 

Apportionment of Representatives. — Under the Articles 
of Confederation each state had one vote. As has been 
noted, the constitutional convention had great difficulty 
in inducing the smaller states to relinquish their equality 
in the House of Representatives. After deciding to base 
representation in the House on population, further diffi- 
culty arose in determining whether or not the slaves should 
be counted as a part of the population in making the appor- 
tionment. The Northern states insisted that the appor- 
tionment should be made according to the number of free 
persons ; the slave states thought the slaves should be 
counted in the enumeration. A compromise was finally 
made by which three fifths of the slaves were counted. 

1 The Supreme Court in 1895 declared an income tax to be a direct tax; 
but the Sixteenth Amendment in 19 13 superseded this clause so far as income 
taxes are concerned. 



62 THE NATION 

This of course was changed by the Civil War and the sub- 
sequent constitutional amendments. The acceptance of 
this rule was naturally favorable to the slave states inas- 
much as it greatly increased the number of the representa- 
tives. From another point of view, however, it was un- 
favorable to them, for it increased their proportion of direct 
taxes. None the less the slave states felt that the advan- 
tages were greater than the disadvantages. 

The above provision, regulating the apportionment of 
representatives, has been changed by Section 2 of the Four- 
teenth Amendment, which reads as follows : — 

"Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States 
according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number 
of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed." 

Ratio of Representation. — The Constitution declared 
that representation should not exceed one representative 
for every 30,000 inhabitants. This was the only limitation 
placed -on the number of members of the House. Under 
the first census taken, the ratio of representation was placed 
at 33,000 inhabitants for each member. There were 
sixty-five representatives in the first House. The United 
States takes a new census, and Congress makes a new 
apportionment for representatives every ten years. Under 
the last census, taken in 1910, there have been since 1913, 
435 members of the House, and the ratio of representation 
was 211,877 inhabitants. The number of representatives 
will be 435 until the next apportionment goes into effect 
in 1923, unless new states are admitted into the Union 
before that time. If a new state is admitted after an appor- 
tionment act is passed, the new members are additional 
to those provided for by the act. 



THE LAW-MAKING DEPARTMENT 63 

The ratio of representation is found by dividing the total 
population of all the states by the number of representatives. 
The population of each state divided by the number thus 
obtained will give the number of representatives to which 
a state is entitled. Remainders must necessarily result 
from making these divisions, and this will prevent the 
total number of representatives allowed each state from 
equaling the total apportionment made by Congress. 
In order to make up the deficiency, Congress assigns 
to each state having a remainder of more than half of 
211,877 one additional member, thus making up the ap- 
portioned number. 

Each State Represented. — It is possible for a state 
not to have a population as large as the number re- 
quired for a representative. Foreseeing this, it was 
provided that " Each state shall have at least one repre- 
sentative." 

Territorial Delegates. — Each organized territory sends 
one delegate to Congress. This delegate is elected by the 
popular vote of the territory and his duty is to look after 
the general welfare of the territory he represents. He has 
a right to a seat in the House of Representatives and may 
participate in debates, but does not have the right to vote. 
From some of the insular possessions, which are only partly 
organized territories, a delegate or commissioner has only 
such rights as the House extends to him. 

The Congressional District. — The states entitled to 
more than one representative are divided into congressional 
districts by their state legislatures. Representatives are 
elected by the popular vote of these districts. When a 
state is entitled to increased representation under the new 
census, the additional congressional member or members 



64 THE NATION 

are elected by the popular vote of the state at large until 
the state is redistricted. A member elected in this way 
is known as congressman at large. 

The Gerrymander. — Gerrymandering is a political 
term meaning the changing of the boundaries of congres- 
sional districts, by the political party in power, in such a 
way as to give the greatest political advantage to that 
party. Two congressional districts, side by side, differing 
in politics, are frequently brought to the same political 
status by the skillful use of this political juggling. 

Sec. 2, Clause 4. — When vacancies happen in the representa- 
tion from any State, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs 
of election to fill such vacancies. 

Vacancy in the House. — A vacancy in the national 
representation of a state is rilled by the voters of the con- 
gressional district in which the vacancy occurs. A writ 
of election is issued by the governor of the state when the 
vacancy occurs, and the people at the special election 
choose a representative for the unexpired time. Vacancies 
may happen as a result of death, resignation, or removal. 
If a representative wishes to resign, he does so by informing 
the governor of his state to that effect. 

Sec. 2, Clause 5. — The House of Representatives shall choose 
their Speaker and other officers, and shall have the sole power of 
im-i 



Officers of the House. — The officers of the House of 
Representatives are : a speaker, a clerk, a sergeant-at-arms, 
a doorkeeper, a postmaster, and a chaplain. None of 
these officers is a regular member of the House except 
the speaker, who must be himself a representative. These 
officers are chosen by the House. 



THE LAW-MAKING DEPARTMENT 65 

The Speaker. — The presiding officer of the House of 
Representatives is known as the speaker. He is elected 
by the members of the House from their own number and 
holds his office for a term of two years. As the representa- 
tive of the people of his district, he has the right to take an 
active part in all discussions and to vote on all questions. 
Usually, however, he does not vote except upon measures 
of great importance, when the vote is taken by ballot, 
or when there is a tie. It is his duty to preside over all 
the deliberations of the House, receive and put motions, 
decide points of order, grant or withhold recognition, give 
parliamentary information when desired, and preserve 
order in the House. The speaker should be a man of 
sterling character and great executive ability, as well as 
a good parliamentarian. Until recently his greatest source 
of power lay in his right to appoint the Committee on 
Rules, composed of himself and two other majority mem- 
bers. This committee kept the register of bills, and owing 
to its arbitrary handling of the measures falling within its 
jurisdiction, has sometimes been called " The cemetery of 
legislative hopes." The speaker gradually grew into an 
autocrat more powerful in legislation than even the House 
itself until during the sixty-first Congress (1910), when an 
uprising in that body took the power of appointing the 
Committee on Rules from him and lodged it in a committee 
elected by the House itself. This seems to be a new step 
toward democracy as it makes the speaker more nearly 
an impartial moderator like the Speaker of the House of 
Commons in England. Furthermore, during the special 
session of the sixty-second Congress a rule was adopted 
providing for the election of all standing committees 
by the House. The speaker's salary is $12,000 a year. 



66 THE NATION 

The Clerk. — The clerk is the recording officer of the 
House. It is his duty to read all papers when so ordered 
by the speaker, make an accurate list of the members, call 
the roll, and register the result of a vote. It is his duty 
also to record motions, and take charge of and preserve 
the documents and papers belonging to the House. The 
journal, when properly kept, is an accurate record of the 
daily work of the House. As a rule, it should not contain 
any record of anything that was not regularly acted and 
passed upon by the House, and great care is exercised to 
that end. 

The Doorkeeper. — The doorkeeper is the custodian of 
the House, and has charge of the Hall of Representatives, 
including furniture, books, and other property of the 
government. It is also his duty to guard the doors of 
the House and to allow only such persons to enter as are 
permitted to do so under the rules and regulations of the 
House. 

The Postmaster. — The postmaster has charge of the 
special postoffice established in the Capitol for the accom- 
modation of the members of the House. He looks after 
all mail, and performs the duties connected with such a 
position. 

The Chaplain. — The daily session of the House of Repre- 
sentatives is opened with prayer by the chaplain chosen for 
that purpose. 

The Sergeant-at-Arms. — The sergeant-at-arms is the 
sheriff of the House. He has charge of that symbol of 
authority, the mace. He, at the request of the House or 
the speaker, arrests members and maintains good order in 
the House. He also summons absent members when needed 
in order to make a quorum, and acts as paymaster of the 



THE LAW-MAKING DEPARTMENT 67 

House. The sergeant-at-arms is under the direction of 
the House of Representatives and the speaker. 

The Mace. — The House, at its first session (1789), 
authorized the Speaker to procure a suitable symbol of 
authority for the sergeant-at-arms. A mace of special 
design was selected. Mr. George Hazelton, in his book, 
" The National Capitol," says : — 

" This time-honored emblem of authority is composed of 
thirteen ebony sticks, silver-bound and surmounted by a silver 
globe, delicately engraved with the map of the world, upon the 
top of which rests a silver eagle with wings outstretched. A 
few minutes before the assembling of the 'House it is the duty 
of an assistant sergeant-at-arms to carry the mace to the floor 
and rest it on the platform, prepared for that purpose, against 
the wall beside the speaker. When the chaplain finishes the 
benediction, the speaker declares the House in session, and 
the mace is raised and placed upon its immovable pedestal of 
malachite, where it remains until the House adjourns. The 
assistant sergeant-at-arms then formally bears it back and 
replaces it in the custody of his superior. 

" Whenever, during sessions, the House becomes too turbu- 
lent for the speaker to control, he directs the sergeant-at-arms 
to take the mace from its pedestal and carry it among the 
members. Only upon the rarest occasions has this authority 
not been immediately respected." 

Impeachment. — The Constitution declares that the 
House of Representatives shall have the sole power of 
impeachment, and the Senate the sole power to try such 
cases. An article of impeachment is a written accusation 
preferred against some federal officer by the House of Repre- 
sentatives. The President and Vice President and all 
civil officers of the United States are subject to this law. 



6S THE NATION 

The Organization and Practical Working of the National 
House of Representatives. — The clerk of the previous 
House calls the House of Representatives to order at the 
beginning of each Congress. This done, he calls the roll, 
which he makes up from the certified returns of the states, 
ascertains whether a quorum is present, and presides until 
a speaker is elected. 

The oath of office is usually administered to the speaker 
by the member of the House who has been longest in con- 
tinuous service. This member is known as the " father of 
the House." After the speaker takes the oath, he adminis- 
ters it in turn to the members of the House. The oath 
administered to senators and representatives is here given : — 

" I (name) do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will 
support and defend the Constitution of the United States 
against all enemies foreign and domestic ; that I will bear 
true faith and allegiance to the same ; that I take this 
obligation freely, without any mental reservation or pur- 
pose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge 
the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So 
help me God." 

There are as many seats in the House as there are repre- 
sentatives and territorial delegates. Each seat is numbered 
and is assigned in the House to members by lot at the 
opening session of each Congress. It is the custom for 
members of different political parties to occupy different 
sides in the hall. Members who have served in the House 
for a long time are usually given preference in the selec- 
tion of seats. Members of the House and Senate are now 
furnished offices, by the government, in new buildings built 
expressly for that purpose. 

After the different officers of the House are elected, and 



THE LAW-MAKING DEPARTMENT 69 

the organization is completed, the standing committees of 
the House are elected by vote of the House. The fate of 
most measures depends upon the action of the committee 
to which it is referred. Speaker Reed, in referring to the 
importance of the committees of the House, said : " The 
committee is the eye, and ear and hand, and very ofter 
the brain, of the assembly. Freed from the very great 
inconvenience of numbers, it can study a question, obtain 
full information, and put the proposed action into proper 
shape for final decision. The appointment of a committee 
also insures to the assembly the presence during the debate 
of members who have made some examination of the ques- 
tion, and tends to preserve the assembly from its great 
danger, that of being carried away by some plausible 
harangue which excites feeling, appeals to sentiment, and 
obscures reason." When a bill that has been referred to a 
committee, is cast aside and not reported, it is said to be 
" killed in the committee."' 

After the organization of the House and the Senate, each 
house authorizes its clerk to notify the other that it is 
organized and ready to proceed to legislative business. 
Both then appoint committees to act as a joint committee 
to wait upon the President to inform him that Congress is 
organized and ready to receive any communication he may 
desire to make. 

Sec. 3, Clause 1. — The Senate of the United States shall be 
composed of two Senators from each State, [chosen by the legislature 
thereof] 1 for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. 

Election of Senators by State Legislatures. — Until 1866, 

the legislature of each state chose senators in its own way. 

1 The manner of electing senators as indicated in section 3, clause 1, has 
been changed by Amendment XVII. 



70 THE NATION 

This caused many disputes as to the time and manner in 
which the election should be held to be legal. In accord- 
ance with its rights under the Constitution, Congress in 
1866 prescribed the time and manner of choosing the sena- 
tors by the state legislatures, and thus procured uniformity. 
This procedure held until 19 13, when it was superseded by 
Amendment XVII, which provides for the election of the 
senators by popular vote instead of by state legislatures. 
Long drawn out deadlocks in legislatures frequently re- 
sulted in no senators being chosen. As a governor's ap- 
pointee would not be seated when a legislature failed to 
choose, the seat remained empty until a senator was chosen 
by another legislative session. Frequently a state had but 
one senator at Washington, and in 1901 Delaware had no 
senators at all. These bitter contests frequently led to 
bribery and the election of wealthy but inferior men. Al- 
ways where the senatorial election struggle was prolonged, 
a legislature's time, which should have been given to the 
state for useful enactments, was spent in scheming and 
plotting to elect a senator. Frequently the usefulness of 
an entire legislative session was ruined. 

Demand for Popular Election of Senators. — While un- 
successful attempts were being made to get the Senate to 
act with the House in proposing an amendment to the Con- 
stitution providing for popular election of senators, devices 
were adopted in several states to control the action of 
legislatures in the choice of senators. By means of direct 
primary elections, or through state conventions, the people 
expressed their choice for senators. The nominees of the 
people thus chosen were morally forced upon the legisla- 
tures and usually confirmed. In Oregon, a candidate for 
the state legislature was practically forced to agree to vote 



THE LAW-MAKING DEPARTMENT 7 1 

for the candidate for senator who received the largest 
popular vote in the state regardless of party. This method 
elected a Democrat to the Senate when the legislature was 
Republican. The Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitu- 
tion was finally proposed by Congress after much agitation 
and long discussion, and it was promptly ratified by the 
necessary number of states. 

Amendment XVII. — The Senate of the United States shall be 
composed of two senators from each State, elected by the people 
thereof, for six years ; and each senator shall have one vote. The 
electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for elec- 
tors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures. 

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in 
the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs 
of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature 
of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary 
appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the 
legislature may direct. 

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election 
or term of any senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the 
Constitution. 

Present Election of Senators. — In all the states, now, 
candidates for senator are nominated by direct primaries 
or through state conventions. After the nominations by 
the different political parties, the names of candidates are 
put upon a ticket and voted for by the entire electorate of a 
state in the same manner as governors and other state 
officers are chosen. It is too soon to judge of the effects 
of popular elections on the Senate itself, but indications are 
that it will be a body much more responsive to the popular 
will, which, in the main, is an improvement, for that body 
has many times proved ultra-conservative. Enough has 



72 THE NATION 

been seen to justify the conclusion that, as it was under 
the old method of electing senators, a state does not yet 
always choose, as it should, its strongest and most desirable 
men. 

The Senate. — The Senate of the United States is known 
as the upper house of Congress, and is regarded as a body 
of great dignity and power. It is composed of two senators 
from each state, who represent the whole state, and not 
any part or separate interest or district in the state. They 
are elected for six years. There are now 48 states ; hence, 
96 senators, a small number as compared with the Eng- 
lish House of Lords, which has over 600 members, and 
the French Senate, which numbers 300. Each senator 
is entitled to one vote, which gives each state two votes. 
Senators from the same state are frequently elected by 
different political parties, and do not have the same 
opinions concerning public questions and issues. 

Equal Representation in the Senate. — As has been noted, 
representation in the lower house of Congress is based upon 
the total number of people in all the states, each state having 
representation in the House according to the population of 
the state ; but in the Senate the states have equal repre- 
sentation. No bill can become a law until it passes both 
houses of Congress ; and so far as the Senate is concerned, 
the smallest state in the Union has as much power in the 
making of laws as the largest one. This principle of equal 
representation was the result of a compromise effected after 
much earnest and able discussion in the constitutional 
convention. 

Selections of Seats in the Senate. — Seats in the Senate 
are selected as follows : The senator who first expresses a 
desire for a vacant seat or one that is to become vacant is 



THE LAW-MAKING DEPARTMENT 73 

entitled to it. When a senator desires a seat that is not 
vacant, he puts his name down in a book arranged for that 
purpose as an applicant for that particular seat. As soon 
as it becomes vacant, he is entitled to the seat. 

Sec. 3, Clause 2. — Immediately after they shall be assembled 
in consequence of the first election, they shall be divided, as equally 
as may be, into three classes. The seats of the senators of the first 
class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year, of the 
second class at the expiration of the fourth year, and of the third class 
at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one-third may be chosen 
every second year ; [and if vacancies happen, by resignation or other- 
wise, during the recess of the legislature of any State, the executive 
thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting 
of the legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies]. 1 

Division of Senators. — The first Senate under the Con- 
stitution convened on the 4th of March, 1789, with twenty 
senators present. Ten of the thirteen states of the Union 
had elected senators. New York had failed to elect, and 
Rhode Island and North Carolina had not ratified the 
Constitution. Under the Constitution the Senate pro- 
ceeded to divide the twenty senators present into three 
classes. This was done by lot, and resulted in placing 
seven senators in the first class, seven in the second, and 
six in the third class. The seven senators of the first class 
were to serve two years; those of the second class, four 
years ; and those of the third class, six years, or a full 
term. Other senators were put in the different classes as 
they entered the Senate. As new states have been ad- 
mitted into the Union, their senators have been assigned 
to the different classes by lot drawn in the presence of the 
Senate, and the different classes have been kept as nearly 

1 The part in brackets was superseded by Amendment XVII. 



74 THE NATION 

equal as possible. There are (19 14) thirty- two senators in 
each class. 

Vacancies. — Some confusion arose about the manner of 
filling vacancies after the adoption of the Seventeenth 
Amendment. A governor of a state may no longer appoint 
a senator to fill a vacancy unless duly authorized to do so 
by the state legislature. A senator so appointed holds 
office for such a time as the legislature has designated, 
when a special election may be held, or a regular state 
election occurs. 

Sec. 3, Clause 3. — No person shall be a senator who shall not 
have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen 
of the United States and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabit- 
ant of that State for which he shall be chosen. 

The Qualification of Senators. — The constitutional con- 
vention sought to give the Senate exceptional prestige, 
dignity, and power. They desired to make it a conserva- 
tive, dignified body of qualified, broad-minded men of ex- 
perience and character whose main function would be to 
serve as a check on any hasty legislation and to give ballast 
to the legislative power of Congress. Not only was it made 
a perpetual body, but great emphasis was placed upon 
residence, age, and citizenship of the members composing 
it. Before a person can be a senator he must be at least 
thirty years old, must have been a citizen of the United 
States for nine years, and as is the case of the representa- 
tives, be an inhabitant of the state from which he is chosen. 
This . qualification gives him who aspires to hold this high 
office, an opportunity to make liberal preparation, and 
affords the public an opportunity to form an impartial and 
intelligent opinion of his fitness for the place. 



THE LAW-MAKING DEPARTMENT 75 

Sec. 3, Clause 4. — The Vice President of the United States 
shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they 
be equally divided. 

The Vice President. — The Vice President of the United 
States is President of the Senate. He cannot take part in 
the discussions on the floor of the Senate, nor has he the 
right to appoint committees or do anything else that would 
influence legislation. He has no right to vote except in 
case of a tie, and, if he desires, he may refuse to vote in 
this case, in which event the pending measure would fail 
to pass the Senate. Senators address him as " Mr. Presi- 
dent," and he designates the members of the Senate as 
" Senator." 

The oflice of Vice President has degenerated since the 
manner of election was changed by the Twelfth Amend- 
ment, and political parties frequently nominate inferior men 
wholly because of their availability, or on account of 
wealth or powerful business influences. Men of real ability 
generally shun the position, since it so often means political 
oblivion. 

Sec. 3, Clause 5. — The Senate shall choose their other officers, 
and also a president pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, 
or when he shall exercise the office of President of the United States. 

Officers of the Senate. — The officers of the Senate are: 
The President, President pro tempore, secretary, chief 
clerk, doorkeeper, sergeant-at-arms, postmaster, librarian, 
and chaplain. None of these are members of the Senate 
except the President pro tempore. The President pro 
tempore is selected from the Senate, and has all the privi- 
leges of any other member of the Senate, and the additional 
powers of the Vice President while he is acting as presiding 



76 THE NATION 

officer of the Senate. He can debate and vote on any 
question that comes before the Senate, but under no cir- 
cumstances, can he cast more than one vote. In case the 
Vice President becomes President of the United States, the 
President pro tempore of the Senate draws a salary the same 
as that of the Vice President. All the other officers except- 
ing its president are chosen by the Senate and have duties 
similar to those of the House of Representatives. The 
Senate also, like the House, elects its standing committees. 

Sec. 3, Clause 6. — The Senate shall have the sole power to try 
all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on 
oath or affirmation. When the President of the United States is 
tried, the chief justice shall preside; and no person shall be con- 
victed without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. 

Impeachment Trials. — After the articles of impeachment 
have been preferred by the House of Representatives, the 
person accused is summoned by the sergeant-at-arms to 
appear before the Senate. The Senate takes a special oath 
to give the accused a fair and impartial trial, and sits as a 
jury to hear the evidence and arguments of both sides. It 
reci aires the affirmative vote of two thirds of the members 
present to sustain the action of the House in preferring 
articles of impeachment. The penalty of impeachment is 
restricted to removal from office and disqualification to hold 
and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the 
United States. 

In the impeachment trial of President Johnson, since 
there was no Vice President, Senator Ben Wade of Ohio 
was president pro tempore of the Senate, and would have 
at that time succeeded to the presidency, had President 
Johnson been convicted of the charges he was accused of. 



THE LAW-MAKING DEPARTMENT 77 

Senator Wade was a bitter opponent of Johnson and as- 
serted his right to vote as a senator from Ohio, even though 
that vote might have promoted him to the presidency. 
The provision making the chief justice preside when the 
President is on trial is obviously a wise one. 

Sec. 3, Clause 7. — Judgment in cases of impeachment shall 
not extend further than to removal from office, and the disqualifica- 
tion to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit, under the 
United States; but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and 
subject to indictment, trial, and punishment, according to law. 

Penalty for Conviction by Impeachment. — The penalty 
for conviction by impeachment is clearly defined in the 
Constitution. If the charges preferred by the House be 
established, the Senate prescribes all or part of the penalty 
as provided. Persons impeached may still be tried by the 
proper courts for a criminal violation of the law. 

Sec. 4, Clause 1. — The times, places, and manner of holding 
elections for senators and representatives shall be prescribed in 
each state by the legislature thereof ; but the Congress may at any 
time, by law, make or alter such regulations, [except as to the places 
of choosing such senators]. 1 

When Representatives are Elected. — In 1872, Congress 
fixed Tuesday after the first Monday in November as the 
day for the election of national representatives in the dif- 
ferent states. Several of the states had previously fixed in 
their Constitutions the time for the election of the repre- 
sentatives, and Congress did not require these states to 
comply with the new law. One by one, however, these 

1 This exception is no longer of importance ; for naturally senators will 
be voted for at the same places as other officers. The provision was impor- 
tant when senators were elected by the state legislatures. 



78 THE NATION 

states have altered their constitutions to comply with it, 
except that Maine and Vermont still hold their election in 
September. 

Sec. 4, Clause 2. — The Congress shall assemble at least once in 
every year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in Decem- 
ber, unless they shall by law appoint a different day. 

Sessions of Congress. — Annual sessions of Congress are 
required under the Constitution, and, as each Congress lasts 
two years, not less than two sessions can be held during 
each Congress. 

Sec. 5, Clause 1. — Each House shall be the judge of the elections, 
returns, and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of 
each shall constitute a quorum to do business ; but a smaller number 
may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the 
attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such 
penalties, as each House may provide. 

Election Returns. — Each House has the privilege of 
judging of election returns and the qualifications of its 
own members. This is necessary to their independence. 
The Committee on Elections of each House investigates all 
contested elections and makes a report to its respective 
body. The recommendation of the committee is usually 
sustained. Unfortunately, partizanship rather than justice 
frequently prevails in the disputed election cases. 

A Quorum. — It takes a majority in each house to con- 
stitute a quorum for the transaction of business. In deter- 
mining whether a quorum is present in the House, all the 
members present are counted even if they do not answer 
to the roll call. This rule, however, has not been adopted 
in the Senate. Only voting senators are counted. A 
smaller number than a quorum may adjourn from day to 



THE LAW-MAKING DEPARTMENT 79 

day, and, under certain regulations and penalties fixed by 
each body, compel the attendance of absent members. 
This rule prevents a legal dissolution when a majority of the 
members are not present ; and, under a special rule of the 
House of Representatives, fifteen members, including the 
speaker, may compel members to attend. The power 
vested in these fifteen members insures the presence of a 
quorum. The absent members are brought before the 
House by the sergeant-at-arms. This method of securing 
a quorum is known as a " Call of the House." 

Sec. 5, Clause 2. — Each House may determine the rules of its 
proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with 
the concurrence of two thirds, expel a member. 

Parliamentary Rules. — In the beginning of each session 
of Congress a committee is appointed by each house to 
draft parliamentary rules to govern the work of each body. 
The rules of the preceding Congress are generally used until 
new ones are reported by the committee and accepted. 

Punishment of Members. — Each house has the power 
to discipline its members. A member may be punished as 
each house deems proper. He may be reprimanded or 
expelled, the latter procedure requiring a two-thirds vote. 
The following is taken from Reed's Parliamentary Rules : 

" Probably the House has power to inflict other punishments. 
The United States Supreme Court in Kilbourn vs. Thompson, 
13 Otto, 168, says, speaking of the power of punishment: 'We 
see no reason to doubt that this punishment may be, in a proper 
sense, imprisonment, and that it may be for refusal to obey some 
rule on that subject made by the House for the preservation of 
order.' If the House of Representatives can imprison, it would 
seem that it could suspend without imprisonment." 



80 THE NATION 

Sec. 5, Clause 3. — Each House shall keep a journal of its 
proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such 
parts as may, in their judgment, require secrecy ; and the yeas and 
nays of the members of either House on any question shall, at the 
desire of one fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. 

The Journal and the Yea and Nay Vote. — The journal 
of each house is carefully kept. It is the record of the busi- 
ness actually transacted. In addition, the entire proceed- 
ings, debates and all, are reported by stenographers and 
printed in the Congressional Record, which becomes the 
complete history of Congress. During the session of Con- 
gress it is published daily at the expense of the government. 
The public is entitled to know what Congress is doing, and 
the publication of the proceedings keeps the public informed, 
and is an incentive to members of Congress to look after 
the interest of the people of their districts as well as the 
people at large. 

The yea and nay vote is taken on the call of one fifth of 
the members present, and, when this vote is ordered, each 
member's name and how he voted is registered on the journal. 
When the call of the yeas and nays is made, the members' 
names are called alphabetically. 

Sec. 5, Clause 4. — Neither House, during the session of Con- 
gress, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than 
three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two Houses 
shall be sitting. 

Adjournment of Congress. — Section 5, Clause 4, of the 
Constitution insures the closest cooperation between the 
two houses, and prevents either house from adjourning for 
a longer time than three days without the consent of the 
other. If either house could adjourn independent of the 



THE LAW-MAKING DEPARTMENT 8 1 

other, legislation could be stopped at any time by such a 
procedure. 

Sec. 6, Clause i. — The senators and representatives shall 
receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, 
and paid out of the treasury of the United States. They shall, in 
all cases except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged 
from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective 
Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any 
speech or debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in 
any other place. 

Salaries. — The salary of senators and representatives is 
fixed by law, and is paid out of the treasury of the United 
States. The members of both houses receive $7500 per 
year and mileage at twenty cents per mile in going home 
from Washington and returning " by the nearest route." 
The speaker receives $12,000 per year and mileage; the 
president pro tempore receives the same amount as while 
acting as president of the Senate. 

Detention of Members and Freedom of Debate. — In 
order to secure freedom of debate, representatives and sena- 
tors cannot be arrested during the session of Congress, 
except in case of treason, felony, and breach of peace. 
Freedom from arrest is also " a safeguard against the pas- 
sage of noxious legislation by the detention or removal, 
under legal forms, of men whose presence would make such 
action impossible." 



Sec. 6, Clause 2. — No senator or representative shall, 
the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office 
under the authority of the United States, which shall have been 
created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during 
such time; and no person holding any office under the United States 
shall be a member of either House during his continuance in office. 



82 THE NATION 

Civil Officers and Fraud. — Representatives and senators 
cannot hold a civil office under the authority of the United 
States. Neither have they a right to resign to accept an 
office that was created, or one whose salary was raised during 
the time for which they were elected. This clause was put 
into the Constitution to prevent fraud and to avoid abuses. 
Senators and representatives may be appointed to military 
office, as it is not considered a civil office. 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

Andrews: New Manual of the Constitution, 44-72. 

Beard : American Government and Politics, ch. XII. 

Boynton: School Civics, 97-117. 

Bryce : The American Commonwealth, 3d ed., chs. XI-XIV. 

Fish : The Development of American Nationality, ch. III. 

Fiske: Civil Government, 212-218. 

Forman: Advanced Civics, 11 5-130. ■ 

Garner : Government in the United States, chs. X-XI. 

Guitteau : Government and Politics in the United States, chs. 
XXII, XXIII, XXIV. 

Hart : Actual Government, chs. XIII-XIV. 

Hinsdale: American Government, 4th ed., 144-186. 

James and Sanford : Government in State and Nation, rev. ed., 
121-144. 

Kaye : Readings in Civil Government, chs. VII- VIII. 

Reinsch: Readings on the American Federal Government, chs.. 
VI, VII. 

Woodburn: American Republic, chs. IV-V. 

Source Material and Supplementary Aids. — The Constitution. 
Rules of Congress. The Congressional Record. 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. State the advantages of having two houses in our Congress. 

2. When does Congress meet ? How long are the sessions ? How 
are representatives chosen ? Qualifications of ? 



THE LAW-MAKING DEPARTMENT 83 

3. How were representatives originally chosen? How elected 
now? 

4. What rights have territorial delegates? 

5. How is a vacancy in the House filled? 

6. How is a speaker of the House chosen? What are his duties 
and powers ? 

7. Who are the other officers of the House? Give duties. 

8. How are senators chosen? Term? How is the Seventeenth 
Amendment an improvement over the old method of electing 
senators ? 

9. Why have equal representation in the Senate from all states ? 
What are the advantages of this system ? How is this method unfair ? 

10. How are vacancies in the Senate filled ? 

11. What are the qualifications of a senator? 

12. What are the duties of a Vice President? Why is this high 
office so lightly regarded? 

13. What other officers has the Senate? Duties of? 

14. What is impeachment? Define the duties of the House and 
Senate in impeachment proceedings. What is the penalty ? 

15. When are congressmen regularly elected? When does Con- 
gress regularly meet ? 

16. Would it be better to have a new Congress meet at once after 
an election ? 

17. What right has each house concerning election returns? 

18. What is meant by a quorum ? 

19. Why should little secrecy obtain ordinarily in sessions of com- 
mittees of Congress ? Of Congress itself ? 

20. May the Senate sit when the House is not in session ? Why ? 
May the House sit without the Senate ? Why ? 

21. Why are members privileged from arrest? Why are they 
only subject to questioning in the body to which they belong con- 
cerning remarks made there ? 

22. Why are members of Congress prevented from aspiring to 
certain offices? 

QUESTION FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That the Vice President should be an advisor to the 
President in a capacity similar to that of a cabinet officer. 



CHAPTER VII 

HOW LAWS ARE MADE 

The People. — Before going further in an analysis of the 
Constitution it will be well to study the way in which laws 
are passed by Congress. Indeed, in tracing the steps by 
which national laws are made we shall see that the method 
relates as well to the manner of making all local and state 
laws. The people are, or should be, behind every law or 
proposed law. If they fail to secure the legislation which 
they desire, it will be, in the main, for the want of an 
aggressive action in making themselves a part of the public 
voice. From the sovereign individual an idea may enter 
the home, the neighborhood, the legislative district, the 
county, the congressional district, the state, the nation, and 
finally become a law. 

A law begins by first passing the congresses of minds ; 
then it passes the congresses of the government. A bill 
introduced into Congress begins as an idea of one person, 
a committee, or a political convention, or as a combination 
of ideas of several persons, committees, or political conven- 
tions. Every bill begins merely as an idea, and this idea 
afterwards becomes a public issue, then a plank in a political 
platform, and finally a law. 

The Home and the Idea. — The idea originates, let. us 
suppose, as a current topic in the home. From here it gets 
into the newspapers and periodicals which are always found 
in the enlightened American home, and coming thus promi- 

8 4 



HOW LAWS ARE MADE 85 

nently before the people, it becomes a public issue. Soon 
public gatherings begin to discuss it ; the school takes it 
as a topic for debate ; a general local interest is aroused, 
and the people begin to desire that it be enacted into a law. 
Now the people have learned that whatever they want in 
the way of legislation, they can get by working for it. Ac- 
cordingly they meet in assemblies throughout the district 
where this idea has taken hold, and draw up petitions that 
it be incorporated as a part of the political platform. Dele- 
gates are sent to the county convention to speak, work, 
and vote for the idea, and see to it if possible, that it is 
accepted by that body. Thus what was at first merely a 
local idea may become of general interest and concern. 

County Conventions and the Idea. — The majority of the 
members of the county conventions, let us say, favor the 
proposed measure. Accordingly, they send delegates to 
the congressional district convention pledged to vote for 
the nomination of a candidate for Congress who is also in 
sympathy with the idea, and will do everything in his 
power to secure its passage through the national Congress. 
Other counties in the different congressional districts of the 
different states pursue the same course, and, as a result, 
the different congressional district conventions are largely 
in favor of the measure. 

The Congressional District and the Idea. — When the 
congressional district conventions convene to nominate 
candidates for Congress, they will be found to be in favor 
of the proposed law. This is only natural as these conven- 
tions are simply the reflections of the desires, the petitions, 
and the instructions of the individual, the home, the com- 
munity, and the county convention. Congressional can- 
didates who believe as the district conventions do, have 



86 THE NATION 

expressed themselves concerning the idea, and who promise 
to use every effort in their power to secure the passage of 
the proposed law, are nominated. Thus the members of 
the House of Representatives will be in favor of the idea 
and will pass a bill that embodies it. 

State Conventions and the Idea. — The idea, as has been 
seen, that originated in the home becomes a public issue, 
then a leading principle of one of the great political parties. 
The state convention exercises the natural powers dele- 
gated to it in fostering the principle, in nominating a 
friendly candidate for senator, and in sending delegates to 
the national convention who are in favor of the issue. It 
also names presidential electors at large pledged to vote 
for a President who will use his influence in securing the 
passage of the proposed bill. Also the delegates from each 
congressional district named one elector and selected dele- 
gates to the national convention or nominated these dele- 
gates by direct primaries. The electors and delegates 
chosen, indorsed the new political thought. In other states, 
a similar course was followed by conventions, or the same 
result was secured by the people voting in direct primaries. 

The National Convention and the Idea. — The national 
convention next meets to nominate a candidate for the 
presidency of the United States. The convention is largely 
in favor of the proposed law and makes it a plank in the 
national platform. The President is elected on this plat- 
form, and, on beginning his duties as President of the 
United States, recommends the passage of the law in his 
message. Finally, the proposed measure is introduced in 
the House of Representatives in the form of a bill, and passes 
the House and the Senate. The bill is sent to the President, 
who affixes his signature, and it becomes a law. 



HOW LAWS ARE MADE 87 

Artificial Laws. — Any law that does not take its origin 
directly or indirectly from the expressed opinion and desire 
of the majority, is an artificial law. The people of a re- 
public are the natural law makers. There is no question 
but that a few of our laws began as ideas born in the 
souls of selfish men who put the dollar and personal profit 
above the government and the general welfare. Usually 
such measures are known only to the lobby and lobbyist 
prior to their final enactment into laws. It is to be re- 
gretted that every law that reaches the statute books does 
not spring from an expressed desire of the people. But 
this is becoming more and more the case. 

Political Parties. — Political parties have their origin in 
a difference of opinion among the people concerning public 
questions, and in the rights and duties of a citizen under the 
Constitution. We shall have political parties as long as 
men use their own minds and think for themselves. The 
political party is the child of a representative system of 
government. It is the product of a government by public 
opinion. Without political organizations, through which 
to express the public will and choice, it would be almost 
impossible for the people to govern and shape the policy 
and character of our nation and control the making of laws. 
Political questions must be decided by majorities, and the 
political party is the agent through which majorities are 
obtained. There is no other force in our government that 
does so much to create public opinion and to set people to 
thinking about public questions as does a political party. 
Mr. James Bryce, in speaking of this, said : " But the spirit 
and force of party has in America been as essential to the 
action of the machinery of government as steam is to the 
locomotive engines ; or, to vary the simile, party associa- 



88 THE NATION 

tions and organization are to the organs of government 
almost what the motor nerves are to the muscles, sinews, 
and bones of the human body. They transmit the motive 
power, they determine the direction in which the organs 
act." * 

■ Those persons who championed the idea, as discussed 
previously, and labored to make it a civil- law, formed one 
organization, and those who objected to it formed another. 
This idea might be the beginning of a new political party 
or a plank put in the platform of one of the established 
parties. American public opinion, always on political, and 
very frequently on moral and social questions, crystallizes 
into thought and finds itself expressed in the creed and 
platform of some party, and then if worthy, sooner or later 
becomes a law. Political parties and their problems will 
be treated more at length in another chapter. 

Public Opinion. — There is no one principle of greater 
importance to a free government, than the expression of 
individual thoughts and desires concerning all questions 
and public issues that come before the people, and there is 
no higher test of one's love of country than his aggressive- 
ness in fostering the principles of his government by becom- 
ing an active worker in the making of public sentiment. 
The will, the ideas, the thoughts, the desires, and the in- 
dividualities of all the people should be the nation's voice 
and act in making laws, in defining policies, and in trans- 
acting all business that concerns the people. But this will 
not be the case unless the citizen studies the ethics of his 
government, thinks for himself, and asserts his own natural 
right to be a part of every public expression. A mere nega- 
tive unexpressed self, with no opinions concerning public 

1 " The American Commonwealth," II, 3d ed., page 3. 



HOW LAWS ARE MADE 89 

affairs and business, is cowardly and unpatriotic. One can- 
not take himself out of public opinion. One is an insepa- 
rable part of it. Every citizen is in duty bound to give that 
which concerns the interests of his country, his attention ; 
for in refusing to do so he violates a civic trust and proves 
unworthy of his government. Our country depends very 
largely upon a cultured, moral individual life that expresses 
itself in positive terms through the voice of public opinion. 
Unfortunately, there are many honest citizens who attend 
faithfully to their daily business affairs, but fail to realize 
that they are partly responsible for the administration of 
the government and its public acts. They seem to lose 
sight of the fact that patriotism demands civic aggressive- 
ness, and that their own conduct is wholly inconsistent 
with the thought upon which our nation is built. 

Sec. 7, Clause 1. — All bills for raising revenue shall originate 
in the House of Representatives ; but the Senate may propose or 
concur with amendments as on other bills. 

The Constitution thus requires that all revenue bills must 
be passed upon first in the House of Representatives. With 
this exception a bill may originate in either house. On 
this most important matter our Constitution follows that 
of England, where revenue bills must originate in the House 
of Commons. It has recently been enacted by that body 
that the Lords may not even amend such bills. The ques- 
tion of who should control the finances of our government 
called forth a long debate in the constitutional convention 
and it was not settled till the end. The main reason for 
giving the lower house this power, seemed to be a feeling 
that since representatives are nearer the people, they would 
better know their ability to pay. They are also more 



90 THE NATION 

quickly and directly responsible to the people than are the 
senators ; hence would be likely to exercise greater precau- 
tion in this delicate matter. 

Sec. 7, Clause 2. — Every bill which shall have passed the House 
of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a law, 
be presented to the President of the United States; if he approve, 
he shall sign it ; but if not, he shall return it with his objections, to 
that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the 
objections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. 
If, after such reconsideration, two thirds of that House shall agree 
to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the 
other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if 
approved by two-thirds of that House, it shall become a law. But in 
all such cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas 
and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the 
bill shall be entered on the journal of each House respectively. 
If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days 
(Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the 
same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the 
Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it 
shall not be a law. 

Sec. 7, Clause 3. — Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the 
concurrence of the Senate and the House of Representatives may be 
necessary (except on a question of adjournment) shall be presented 
to the President of the United States ; and before the same shall take 
effect, shall be approved by him, or, being disapproved by him, shall 
be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, 
according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. 

Orders and Resolutions. — Every order, resolution, or 
vote that requires the concurrent action of the two houses 
must be presented to the President for his signature. This 
requirement was made by the Constitution in order to 
prevent Congress from passing, under the name of order, 



HOW LAWS ARE MADE 9 1 

resolution, or vote and without his signature, measures that 
are in their nature laws. Congress can, however, adjourn, 
pass an order directing the sergeant-at-arms to compel the 
attendance of members, or vote thanks for favors received 
without the approval of the President. A resolution pro- 
posing a constitutional amendment does not require the 
approval of the President ; nor does a concurrent resolution 
expressing only a sentiment. Only when a joint resolution 
has the force of a law must it be sent to the President for 
approval. 

The Course of a Bill through Congress. — To illustrate 
the process of a measure in passing Congress, let us suppose 
a bill to be introduced in the House by a representative. 
This being done the bill is generally referred by the Speaker 
to an appropriate committee, though the House may direct 
that it shall go to a certain committee. This committee 
considers the bill and reports it back to the House with such 
recommendations and alterations as it desires to make. 
The recommendation of the committee is usually ratified 
by the House, though it has the right to take any action 
it may desire. If the bill is reported favorably by the com- 
mittee, it is printed, and copies of it are distributed among 
the members. Every bill is read three times on three sepa- 
rate days, unless by unanimous consent it is given its second 
and third reading on the same day. These readings are 
by title only the first time; the second time a bill is read 
in full, amended if desired, and placed upon the calendar ; 
the third reading is by title only unless otherwise demanded. 
The vote is taken on it after its third reading. After its 
passage in the House, it is sent to the Senate for con- 
sideration. If the Senate should amend it. the bill would 
be again presented to the House for action. When it has 



92 THE NATION 

passed both houses of Congress in the same form, it is 
turned over to the Committee on Enrolled Bills to be 
enrolled, that is, carefully and accurately written in a 
plain hand on parchment. This copy of the bill is signed 
by the speaker of the House, and by the president of the 
Senate, after which it is sent to the President, who affixes 
his signature, thereby making it a law. It will not be 
necessary to give the course of a bill originating in the Senate, 
as the procedure is similar to that just given. 

The Veto. — The President has the power to veto any 
bill that passes Congress. This executive power is one of 
the checks in our system of legislation. Vetoing a bill con- 
sists in the President's refusing to sign it and writing out 
his objections to the bill, which he sends back to the house 
in which it originated. The President cannot veto one 
part and approve another part of a bill, but he must either 
approve or disapprove all of the bill as a whole. But Con- 
gress has a recourse from the President's veto. Our fathers 
in their wisdom gave these legislative bodies a restraining 
power over the executive by making it constitutional for 
Congress to pass a bill over the President's veto by a two- 
thirds vote of each house. The purpose of the veto was to 
preserve the government of checks and balances, and was 
intended to protect the executive from the encroachments 
of Congress. To-day it is used, as Mr. Bryce puts it, " on 
grounds of general expediency." Prior to 1885, only one 
hundred thirty- two bills were vetoed. Then came Presi- 
dent Cleveland, who vetoed three hundred bills in his first 
term. They were mostly private pension bills which had 
been rushed through Congress, sometimes at the rate of 
three a minute. A President is generally approved by public 
opinion for freely using the veto on. measures in which he 



HOW LAWS ARE MADE 93 

feels Congress has been hasty. At most the exercise of this 
power can do the real spirit of democracy little harm, for if 
reasons deemed insumcient are given for the veto. Congress 
may still, by a two-thirds vote, make the bill a law. but 
that body must then assume all responsibility to the people 
for any measure so passed. The Constitution does not say 
whether or not the President may sign a bill after Congress 
hnally adjourns. Only once has this been done, when in 
1863 President Lincoln signed a bill nine days after a final 
adjournment of Congress. Precedent is entirely against it 
in the federal government, but some states allow it. 

The Committee System. — Each house of Congress is 
divided into groups known as committees. The same man 
usually serves on several committees. Prior to 19 10. as 
previously said, the committees of the House were chosen 
by the speaker. At the opening of both the sixty-second 
and the sixty- third Congress, the Ways and Means com- 
mittee, acting as a steering body in the House, nominated 
the other committees : but the committees were formally 
elected by ballot of the entire House. In the Senate also 
the committees are elected by ballot of the entire body. 
Senator Hoar, in speaking of the influence of congressional 
committees, called them " little legislatures." It is not 
hard to understand the significance of his term when we 
fully realize that even' measure introduced in Congress is 
referred to some committee before it is considered by the 
body into which it is introduced, as a whole, and that the 
reports of these committees are usually sustained. Of 
course, either house has the right to reject the action of 
the committee and pass a bill regardless of its recommenda- 
tion to the contrary, but this is rarely done. Committee 
meetings for the purpose of considering bills are usually 



94 THE NATION 

secret. A certain time, however, may be named when the 
advocates and opponents of a bill may appear before the 
committee and argue the advantages and disadvantages of 
the proposed law. The work of a committee is to inves- 
tigate thoroughly all bills referred to it, and it may also 
originate measures of its own and report to the house the 
result of its labors. It has a right to propose amendments 
to a bill and embody these proposed amendments in its 
report. When a committee reports a bill too late for the 
pending session of Congress, or fails to report it at all, the 
bill is said to have been " killed in the committee." 

The committees in the House consist of from three to 
twenty- two members each, the first man named acting as 
chairman . The House has about sixty standing committees, 
but this number varies somewhat at different sessions, as 
does that of the seventy standing committees of the Senate. 1 
In the House the two committees that rank highest are 
the Ways and Means committee, which handles all bills for 
raising revenue, and the committee on Appropriations, 
which controls the expenditures. In the Senate those on 
Finance, Appropriations, and Foreign Affairs rank as the 
most important. A bill is handed to a certain committee by 
its author or if introduced in the House is referred to its 
proper committee by the presiding officer unless voted 
otherwise by the House. From 12,000 to 15,000 bills are 
introduced in Congress in one session, nine tenths of which 
fail to become laws. The sixty-first Congress broke the 
previous records for the introduction of all kinds of bills 
— 33,015 all told, there being besides 1500 resolutions of 
various kinds. With all this material the houses as a 

1 The sixty-second Congress had seventy-two committees in the Senate ; 
the House had a total of fifty-six. 



HOW LAWS ARE MADE 



95 



whole could do nothing, hence it devolved upon the various 
committees to sift out the relevant and important measures. 
It will be seen readily that much good material may be 
lost in committees, for only a few measures not favorably 
reported ever become laws during any session. Two evils of 
the committee system are : it breaks the unity and interest 
of the legislative body as a whole, since it is in the com- 
mittee that the member does most of his work; and 
second, it gives a great opportunity for powerful influences 
to advance or throttle measures of special interest and use 
" graft " if the members of the committee are susceptible. 
The passage of a bill through Congress is shown in the 
diagram. 




In cases of a deadlock between the two houses, concerning 
proposed amendments, each house holding to its own bill, 
the bill is either lost or is referred to a joint conference 
committee. This conference committee, consisting of 
several members from each house, is especially appointed 
to consider the measure causing the deadlock ; and if it 
comes to an agreement concerning the measure, the two 
houses almost invariably accept the committee's report, 
which is generally a compromise measure. 

Filibustering. — Many of the bills introduced in Congress 
and favored by a large majority of the members, have failed 
to become laws. This happens on account of " filibuster- 



96 THE NATION 

ing," a method frequently resorted to by members of the 
minority in order to block legislation. " Filibustering " 
consists of making motions to adjourn, motions to take 
recess, the preventing of the securing of enough members 
to order the yea and nay vote, and the using all other means 
and dilatory tactics that conduce to time killing, thus pre- 
venting the bill from coming to a vote. There are many 
parliamentary tactics that can be employed by the minority 
in its efforts to defeat bills and block legislation. But 
public opinion has rendered " filibustering " unpopular. 

A roll call in the House takes at least half an hour and 
this in the past was frequently employed as a means of 
delay. The speaker now has authority arbitrarily to order 
a count of the members present instead, even if they are 
voting, thus avoiding the delay occasioned by a complete 
roll call. This ruling is especially effective when a minority 
is trying to break a quorum. It fell to Speaker Reed in 
the fifty-first Congress to apply the new rule for the first 
time, and it has been upheld by the courts. The speaker 
with a majority of the House, through what is known as 
the " previous question," may also limit debate. In the 
Senate filibustering generally takes the form of talking a 
measure to death toward the end of a session ; for the Senate 
rules permit unlimited debate. Much criticism is directed 
at the Senate for allowing unlimited debate producing use- 
less delay, and reforms on this point may be expected in 
the near future. 

Logrolling. — In recent years much is heard of " log- 
rolling " in Congress. This means that a congressman 
who has a bill which he has introduced and which he desires 
to become a law, "secures his neighbor congressmen to help 
to roll his measure through Congress. In short, he goes 



HOW LAWS ARE MADE 97 

to them and says : " You help me pass my bill when it 
comes before the House and I will vote for, and help you 
pass your bill when it comes to a vote." Possibly it would 
be safe to say that the " logrolling " method is employed 
in the passage of most bills. 

Party Politics. — It must not be forgotten that politics 
plays a very important part in shaping legislation. The 
majority party organizes each house, and as it is responsible 
to the people for the principles and measures it advocated 
during the campaign, it tries, if faithful to its trust, to carry 
out its pledges. Very often these measures will be vigor- 
ously opposed in Congress on partisan grounds as well as 
on principle ; as, for instance, the question of the tariff. 
Here, if the party organization is effective, the caucus of 
the party plays an important part, as it outlines a course 
of action to be followed in passing or defeating measures. 
It is the duty of a certain member of the caucus called the 
" whip " to get everybody present to vote as the caucus 
agreed, particularly on special bills ; and it is considered 
party treason to " bolt " a caucus agreement if the member 
participated in the caucus. In the House the speaker is 
the leader of his party, and is assisted especially by the 
chairmen of the various committees. It can easily be 
seen that in a body as large as the House, there must be 
organization to get best results. The speaker until re- 
cently appointed all committees, and through his influ- 
ence on them was able to push through almost any bill 
he wanted to become law, or to destroy one to which he was 
opposed. In a partisan debate he could formerly gain 
party prestige by recognizing whom he pleased for debate ; 
since 191 1 he is required to recognize the member who 
first rises. In spite of the recent restrictions placed upon 



98 THE NATION 

his office, he is still very powerful though the House as a 
whole is more nearly supreme. It might be well to add 
here that, paradoxical as it may seem, much better results 
for the people would be obtained if they were not repre- 
sented by so large a body of legislators. If the House were 
one third smaller, responsibility could be more easily fixed, 
and business would be greatly expedited. 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

Beard : American Citizenship, ch. XVIII. 

Bryce : The American Commonwealth, I (3d ed.), chs. XIV, XV, 

XVI. 

Boynton : School Civics, ch. X. 

Follett: The Speaker, n 6-1 21 ; 251-253. 

Forman : Advanced Civics, chs. XVII, XXXII. 

Garner : Government in the United States, ch. XL 

Garner : Introduction to Political Science, 458-469. 

Hart : Actual Government, ch. XIII. 

Haskin : The American Government, ch. XXI. 

James and Sanford : Government in State and Nation, rev. ed., 

145-160. 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. Who are the real law makers in the United States? 

2. Show how public opinion develops. 

3. How does an idea become a law ? 

4. How are members of different conventions chosen as delegates? 

5. Why does a republic depend so much upon organization? 

6. Where must bills for revenue originate ? Why? 

7. Trace a bill through Congress. 

8. Describe the committee system of Congress. 

9. Why was the President given the right to veto? 

10. What is filibustering ? Is it ever justifiable ? 

11. How may a bill be passed over the President's veto? 

QUESTION FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That all the meetings and proceedings of committees 
in Congress should be public. 



CHAPTER VIII 
THE POWERS OF CONGRESS 

Article I, Sec. 8. — The Congress shall have power : 
Clause i . — To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, 
to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general 
welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises 
shall be uniform throughout the United States. 

To grant the power to lay and collect taxes, duties and 
imposts, and make them uniform throughout the United 
States, was one of the most difficult problems the con- 
stitutional convention had to solve. The experience of 
the government under the Articles of Confederation, 
however, proved that this power must be granted. Noth- 
ing less could hold the states together, or give the new gov- 
ernment any stability whatever ; hence the above consti- 
tutional provision. 

The subject of federal taxes is discussed more fully in 
Chapter IX. 

Sec. 8, Clause 2. — To borrow money on the credit of the United 
States. 

This subject is discussed in Chapter X. 

Sec. 8, Clause 3. — To regulate commerce with foreign nations, 
and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes. 

Regulation of Commerce. — Prior to the adoption of 
the Constitution, each state had the power to regulate its 
own commerce with foreign nations and with other states. 

99 



100 THE NATION 

Naturally each state used every effort to serve its own 
interest even though it were detrimental to the other 
states, or even to the general welfare of the nation. This, 
of course, was very unsatisfactory, as it worked many 
grievous wrongs to individuals and to states, and therefore 
the constitutional convention had but little hesitation in 
granting to Congress the power to regulate commerce. 
The powers of Congress granted in this clause were limited 
by Section 9, Clause 5, relative to articles exported from 
any state ; also by Section 9, Clause 6, regarding the regu- 
lation of interstate commerce and revenue. This subject 
is treated further in Chapter IX. 

Sec. 8, Clause 4. — To establish a uniform rule of naturaliza- 
tion, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout 
the United States. 

An Alien. — Congress is given the power to provide for 
the uniform naturalization of aliens. An alien is a person 
who, on account of his birth under the jurisdiction of a 
foreign country, is not entitled to all the privileges of citi- 
zens of the United States. 

Naturalization. — Naturalization is the legal act by 
which the alien is admitted into the same privileges as 
those enjoyed by a natural-born citizen, except eligibility 
to the presidency and the vice presidency. 

Citizenship. — Congress has never given a definition of 
citizenship, neither is it defined by the Constitution. The 
Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution tells us who 
are citizens in the following language : " All persons born 
or naturalized in the United States are citizens thereof, 
and of the states wherein they reside." Kent defines a 
citizen as follows : " Citizens under our Constitution and 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS IOI 

laws, mean free inhabitants born within the United States 
or naturalized under the laws of Congress." In 1790 
Congress passed a naturalization law, and since then 
nearly two dozen other laws have been passed on the 
subject. Under these definitions an alien can become a 
citizen only by complying with the requirements prescribed 
by Congress. 

Naturalization Laws of the States. — If each state had 
the power to form its own naturalization laws, we should 
have as many different kinds of laws as we have states. 
This would lead to much confusion, abuse, and injustice. 
While the work of naturalizing a citizen belongs to the 
federal government, it does not necessarily follow that a 
state cannot, under its laws, extend certain privileges to 
the alien and permit him under specified conditions to 
vote even before he is naturalized. But such privileges 
cannot extend beyond the limits of the state granting this 
citizenship. Hence no state can make an alien a citizen 
of the United States ; the national government alone 
having this power. But a state can extend to the alien 
such political and civil rights within its jurisdiction as are 
not contrary to the laws of the United States. This has 
frequently caused trouble through corrupt and lawless 
politicians using foreigners to carry elections when these 
aliens had no conception of citizenship whatever. 

Steps Necessary to obtain Citizenship. — 1 . An alien 
arrives in this country. Chinese, except as students and 
travelers, insane persons, paupers, polygamists, laborers 
under contract except skilled workers in a new industry, 
and people afflicted with contagious diseases are excluded 
from our shores ; also, a minimum sum of money or amount 
of property is necessary before the alien is allowed to enter 



102 THE NATION 

our country. No people of the Mongolian race (Chinese 
or Japanese) can be naturalized. 

2. At least two years before his final admission, the alien 
makes oath or affirmation before a circuit or district court 
of the United States, or a court of record of the state, setting 
forth that he is at least eighteen years of age, able to read 
his own language, and to read and speak English; further, 
he declares his intention to become a citizen of the United 
States and to renounce all allegiance to any other govern- 
ment. This declaration of intention, made at least two 
years before the applicant's final admission, is generally 
known as his first papers. 

3. After not less than two nor more than seven years 
from the time he makes the above first declaration, and at 
least five years from the time he came to this country, the 
applicant for citizenship must appear before a court and 
declare on oath that he will support the Constitution of 
the United States and renounce all allegiance to any foreign 
government. If he has a title of nobility, he is required 
to renounce it also, as titles of nobility are not recognized 
in the United States. Upon the application for the final 
papers the court admitting the candidate must have posi- 
tive evidence that he has resided in the United States for 
at least five years, that his conduct has been good, and that 
he has resided for at least one year in the state or territory 
where the court is held. 

Condensed help. — One may forfeit citizenship by de- 
serting from the military or naval service. 

Under a law passed by Congress in 1882 and since modi- 
fied and renewed, Chinese cannot become citizens. 

An American woman who marries an alien is not entitled 
to American protection. 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS 103 

No alien can become naturalized at the time his country 
is at war with the United States. 

Children born to United States citizens who are tempo- 
rarily located in foreign countries, are citizens of the United 
States. 

If an alien dies after he has declared his intention to be- 
come a citizen of the United States, his widow and children 
will become citizens on taking the oath of allegiance. 

Generally speaking, all naturalized citizens receive the 
same protection from this country, when abroad, as do na- 
tive-born citizens. Some exceptions exist, however; for 
example, in the case of those who return to their native 
country for permanent residence. 

Children who are under twenty-one years of age at the 
time their parents are naturalized are entitled to the same 
privileges as those extended to children of native-born 
parents. 

An alien who has served at least one year in the United 
States army, and received an honorable discharge there- 
from, may become a citizen without a previous declaration 
of intention and after one year's residence, provided he has 
attained the age of twenty-one. 

The natives of foreign territories become citizens when 
such territories are incorporated into our Union by treaty 
or by a special act of Congress. Nearly always an oppor- 
tunity to leave within a time limit has been given to people 
living in territory annexed. Under this ruling whole com- 
munities have been naturalized at one time ; as, for example, 
Texas which with all her people was admitted into the 
Union by a joint resolution of Congress. On the other hand, 
the people of Porto Rico are not yet citizens of the United 
States, Congress not having granted this privilege. 



104 THE NATION 

" An alien coming to this country when a minor who shall 
have resided in the United States three years next preceding 
his arrival at the age of twenty-one, and who shall have con- 
tinued to reside therein to the time of his application, may, 
after he arrives at the age of twenty, and after he shall have 
resided five years in the United States, be admitted a citizen 
without the previous declaration. A woman who might law- 
fully be naturalized under the existing laws, married to a citizen, 
shall be deemed a citizen." — United States Statutes. 

Bankruptcy. — Congress has the power to make uniform 
bankruptcy laws throughout the United States. Each 
state would have a limited right to pass laws regulating 
this question, provided the national government did not 
exercise its power. In fact, many states have passed in- 
solvency laws at times when the national government had 
no bankruptcy laws. A person who is unable to pay his 
debts is said to be a bankrupt ; and the law that distributes 
what property he may have among his creditors, and re- 
lieves him from the further payment of such debts, is a 
bankruptcy law. A debtor may voluntarily have himself 
declared a bankrupt, or upon demand of his creditors, 
under certain conditions, he can be declared a bankrupt 
without his consent. 

Object of the Bankruptcy Law. — The bankruptcy law is 
intended to benefit creditors and debtors. It makes a 
just distribution of the property of the debtor among the 
creditors, and at the same time relieves a debtor from 
"hopeless insolvency," thus giving him an opportunity 
to engage in business again. 

Several national bankruptcy laws have been passed, but 
the one of 1898 is the last, and is generally considered the 
best. Under it the United States district courts have 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS 105 

charge of bankruptcy cases. Any person owing more 
than $1000 may be forced into bankruptcy after a trial, 
or such person may go into voluntary bankruptcy before 
a referee appointed by the court and have his assets di- 
vided among his creditors. States also may have bank- 
ruptcy laws not in conflict with those of the national 
government. 

Solvency and Insolvency. — Every man is either sol- 
vent or insolvent. It is held by some that no man is 
insolvent until he becomes a bankrupt, but it is generally 
held that all persons who can pay their debts are solvent and 
those who cannot pay their debts are insolvent. Every man's 
business falls under one of three conditions : his resources 
and liabilities are equal ; or his resources are larger than his 
liabilities ; or his liabilities are larger than his resources. 

The Moral Obligation. — Under the bankruptcy law, 
a person secures a legal discharge from the payment of his 
debts, but this does not imply that he is morally relieved 
from further obligations to his creditors. The law relieves 
him from the burden of being an insolvent and gives him 
a chance to make another effort to succeed in his work and 
accumulate property. The man owes his debts as much 
as he ever did, and should pay them whenever it becomes 
possible for him to do so. Bankruptcy may be unavoid- 
able or come about through mistaken judgment, but it 
generally carries with it suspicion and stigma. Hence 
bankruptcy is in a sense a test of a man's character. 

Sec. 8, Clause 5. — To coin money, regulate the value thereof, 
and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures. 

Coinage of Money. — Exclusive power to coin money 
and to regulate its value and the value of foreign coin, is 



106 THE NATION 

given to Congress. Under the Articles of Confederation 
the several states had the power to coin money. If the 
central government did not have this exclusive privilege, 
there would perhaps be as many kinds of money as we have 
states. This condition would lead to frequent national 
crises and many wrongs. All nations regard the power to 
coin money as a right of sovereignty. Congress also has 
the power to " regulate the value of money " and of foreign 
coin. The subject of money is treated at greater length 
in Chapter X. 

Condensed help. — Regulating the value of money re- 
refers to determining the ratio of one metal to an- 
other. 

Regulating the value of foreign coin consists in " deter- 
mining what amount of our money foreign coin shall 
represent." 

Treasury notes, commonly called greenbacks, were made 
legal tender for any amount by the Act of 1862. 

The Bureau of the Mint is controlled by the treasury 
department. A director is at the head of this bureau. 
Each mint has a superintendent, who reports to the head 
director. The leading mint is located at Philadelphia, 
with branch mints located at New Orleans, Carson City, 
and San Francisco. The government has assay offices at 
New York City, Denver, Seattle, Boise, and Charlotte, 
North Carolina. On coins, except those from the parent 
mint, at Philadelphia, letters are stamped to show where 
they were coined; for example, " C. C," Carson City. 

The Standardization of Weights and Measures. — But 
little has been done by Congress in the execution of its 
power to fix the standard of weights and measures, except 
to secure copies of English standards and adopt them in 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS 107 

the custom houses of this country, and " to pass a per- 
manent statute for the use of the* metric system through- 
out the United States." All the states have adopted the 
same standard of weights and measures used in the custom 
houses, thereby making a uniform standard throughout the 
country. The states have a right to regulate this matter, 
provided it is not done by Congress, but if Congress should 
at any time decide to adopt a uniform national system, all 
state laws in so far as they might be inconsistent with that 
national system would be null and void. 

Sec. 8, Clause 6. — To provide for the punishment of counter- 
feiting the securities and current coin of the United States. 

Counterfeiting. — Government bonds, treasury notes, 
and gold and silver certificates, are securities issued by the 
United States. Congress has the power to punish the 
counterfeiting of any of these securities or of current coin. 
To counterfeit is "to copy or imitate without authority 
or right, and with a view to deceive or defraud by passing 
the copy for the original or genuine." If the government 
did not have this power, spurious coin and securities would 
be freely circulated and people would be afraid to use 
money as a medium of exchange. In this way the whole 
system of trade and commerce would be disturbed, and 
a national calamity would result. This power of Congress 
does not preclude the states' privilege also to pass laws 
to punish the counterfeiting of securities and coin issued 
and circulated in the United States. 

Not only persons who counterfeit coin and securities, 
but persons who put them into circulation or have them in 
their possession for the purpose of putting them into cir- 
culation, are guilty under the law and can be punished by 



108 THE NATION 

severe penalties. Congress also has the power to punish the 
counterfeiting of foreign securities. 

Sec. 8, Clause 7. — To establish post offices and post roads. 

The Postal Service. — A post office is the place where 
mail is received, stamped, transferred, delivered, and dis- 
tributed ; and a post road is the road on which the mail 
is carried. Under this clause of the Constitution, Congress 
has the power not only to " designate the places where 
post offices shall be kept, and the roads over which the 
mail shall be carried," but it gives Congress the power to 
build post offices, make contracts for the carrying of the 
mail, and when necessary, to open and build post roads 
and provide for all other features connected with the main- 
taining and operating of the postal service. The law de- 
fines as post roads, " all letter carrier routes in towns and 
cities, all railroads and canals, and all waters of the United 
States during the time the mail is carried thereon." Nearly 
the whole of the United States now has free rural delivery. 

Prior to 191 2, at the end of each year the postal depart- 
ment usually showed a large deficit. It is now self-sus- 
taining and already cheaper postal rates are being advo- 
cated. Some conception of the tremendous sum of money 
required to keep up the postal department of our govern- 
ment may be gathered from the fact that in the fiscal year 
ending June 30, 19 10, rural delivery cost $37,041,000, and 
city delivery, $31,737,000. Four classes of post offices 
exist. The postmasters of the first three classes are 
appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. 
Fourth-class postmasters who receive less than $1000 
annual salary have been put under civil service regula- 
tions, and must now pass examinations. Towns having 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS IOQ 

a gross annual postal revenue of $10,000 have free delivery. 
There were about 59,300 post offices in the United States 
in 1910, not counting insular possessions. The Philippines 
had five hundred fifty- three, and Porto Rico eighty-one. 
The total postal receipts for the fiscal year ending June 30, 
1910, were $224,126,657. New York city alone collected 
ten per cent of the total amount, and Chicago eight per 
cent. The total amount paid by the government to the 
railroads for handling the mail was $44,715,000; the 
amount paid to postmasters in salaries was $27,521,000. 
The total cost to the government to handle its postal 
business was $229,977,224.50. In 1914 the expenditures 
of this department were nearly $311,500,000. Over 
$647,000,000 in money orders were issued during 1910, and 
14,000,000,000 pieces of mail were handled. 

There is an international Postal Union in which the rates 
are fixed every five years. Under this arrangement the 
postage on letters to most foreign lands is five cents ; let- 
ters between the United States and England or Germany 
may be sent for two cents. 

Domestic Parcel Post. — For many years the United 
States has had treaties with foreign countries by which 
parcels weighing as much as eleven pounds might be sent 
through the mails to those countries for twelve cents a 
pound. After a long agitation for a domestic parcel post 
service, Congress passed a law installing such a system to 
take effect January 1, 10 13. The country is divided into 
eight zones according to the distance from each post office. 
The first zone includes fifty miles, the second one hundred 
fifty miles, and so on. The rate of postage varies both 
with the weight and with the zone into which the parcel 
is sent. The weisrht of articles and the material which 



110 THE NATION 

may be sent, and all rules and regulations concerning the 
system are under the control of the postmaster-general. 
The maximum weight of a parcel which may be sent into 
the first and second zones is now (1914) fifty pounds; 
into any other zones it is twenty pounds. After one 
year's trial the domestic parcel post has proved very 
beneficial. 

Sec. 8, Clause 8. — To promote the progress of science and useful 
arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the 
exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries. 

Object. — The national government has the exclusive 
power to protect authors and inventors by issuing copy- 
rights and patents. All of the great inventions and all 
of the best literature — - in fact, every invention, book, 
map, chart, musical composition and engraving — at one 
time existed in the mind of man. The government recog- 
nizes the powers of the individual and " promotes the prog- 
ress of science and useful arts " by giving to inventors 
and authors, as a reward for their labor and genius, an 
exclusive right, for a limited time, to reproduce the new 
creations. Many of the great inventions are worked out, 
and many of the great books are written, by poor men, who, 
if they were not protected by copyright and patent, could 
not afford to spend their time in such work. 

Copyright. — A copyright gives the author of a book, 
chart, map, musical composition, engraving, painting, 
drawing, chromo, statue, and other productions of similar 
nature, the exclusive privilege of printing, publishing, and 
selling the same for a term of twenty-eight years. At the 
expiration of this time, the copyright may be renewed for 
another term of twenty-eight years. 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS III 

Securing a Copyright. — To secure a copyright the author 
must publish the book, map, chart, painting, musical com- 
position, engraving, cut, or photograph, with the copyright 
notice. As soon as possible after publication he must send 
to the Librarian of Congress, Washington, D.C., two copies 
of the work with an application for registration. The 
name of the claimant of the copyright must appear on the 
matter which it is desired to copyright. 

The fee for the registration of any work, which includes 
a certificate of registration under seal, is one dollar. 

Notice of the copyright must appear on the title page or 
on the page following. The following forms are used : 

Copyrighted, 19 — , by — — — ; or, Entered according 

to an Act of Congress in the year , by in the 

office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D.C. 

International copyright relations have been established 
by the United States with a number of the leading nations 
of the world. 

Patent Rights. — Letters patent are granted by the 
United States government to " inventors and discoverers 
of any new or useful art, machine, manufacture, or com- 
position of matter, or any new and useful improvement 
on such, which had been previously unknown and had not 
been used by others, and which had not been on sale or in 
public use for more than two years prior to the application 
for a patent." Application for a patent is made to the 
Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D.C. A full de- 
scription, together with such drawings of the invention as 
may be necessary, must accompany the application. Each 
patented article must be stamped " patented." A patent 
gives to an inventor the exclusive right to manufacture and 
sell his invention for a period of seventeen years. No 



112 THE NATION 

extension of this time can be made except by a special act 
of Congress. The Patent Office is under the control of 
the Interior Department and its activity shows the re- 
markable inventive genius of Americans. During a single 
year (191 2) 37,731 patents were issued. 

Sec. 8, Clause 9. — To constitute tribunals inferior to the 
Supreme Court. 

The Supreme Court was provided for by the Constitu- 
tion and organized by Congress. Inferior courts have also 
been organized by Congress. Each one will be considered 
under Article III. 

Sec. 8, Clause 10. — To define and punish piracies and felonies 
committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations. 

Piracy and Felony. — Congress has the power to define 
and punish piracies and felonies. Piracy is robbery on 
the high seas. Under the law of nations the slave trade 
is not considered piracy, but Congress, under this clause, 
in 1820, declared it to be such. Felony generally means 
an aggravated offense like treason and murder. The term 
* high seas " refers to the oceans whose waters are common 
to all the nations of the world. A state or nation has 
jurisdiction over the sea extending about three miles from 
its coast line, or extending three miles from the low-water 
mark. 

The law of nations is a code of rules based on the moral 
law and principles of natural justice. It governs nations 
in their relations to one another. The law of nations is 
being more and more extended and is becoming almost 
universal. Nations are being more and more guided by 
equity, and matters are settled by arbitration according 
to well fixed laws accepted as fair and just. 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS 113 

Sec. 8, Clause it. — To declare war, grant letters of marque 
and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on la'nd and water. 

Declaring War. — A declaration of war is a formal notice 
given by one nation of its determination to prosecute a war 
against another. War may exist without a declaration, 
but in modern times sentiment is against such a proceeding. 
In the Japanese-Russian war Russia complained bitterly 
of Japan's opening hostilities without giving formal notice. 
In monarchies the power to declare war belongs to the 
crown, but it is rarely exercised. In every country in 
Europe the legislative assemblies now have a voice in 
taxation and raising funds, hence the rulers are virtually 
compelled to consult them on such an important matter as 
the declaration of war. There have been three formal 
declarations of war or statements declaring war to be in 
existence made by the United States : against England in 
181 2 ; against Mexico in 1846 ; and against Spain in 1898. 
Congress very properly has the right to declare war, but 
its prosecution falls heavily on the President, to whom 
great implied powers in the time of war are given by the 
Constitution. As chief executive and commander-in-chief 
of the army and navy, the President is held largely re- 
sponsible for the progress and outcome of a war. 

Letters of Marque and Reprisal. — Marque signifies 
boundary. Letters of marque and reprisal are commis- 
sions issued to private persons permitting them to go beyond 
the limit of the country and take the subjects or property 
of the subjects of another nation in retaliation for some 
injury committed by that nation. Reprisal means a re- 
taking. This indicates the reason for issuing the commis- 
sion. Vessels having in their possession these commissions 
are called privateers. The custom of issuing letters of 



114 THE NATION 

marque and reprisal was formerly common, but in recent 
years it is looked upon as a disreputable procedure ; in 
fact, nothing more than legalized piracy. The idea of 
striking at private commerce on the sea to bring a nation 
to terms has all but passed. There is coming to be an 
international sentiment that private commerce, other than 
contraband, should not be attacked, and also that an enemy's 
goods under a neutral flag must be unmolested. This 
idea, enacted into international law, would stop all pri- 
vateering. In the Congress of Paris in 1856, the leading 
European powers agreed to stop privateering. Our govern- 
ment, though not a party to the agreement, followed its 
provisions in our late war with Spain. This precedent 
will probably be followed by the government of the United 
States and other countries in the future. 

Sec. 8, Clause 12. — To raise and support armies ; but no 
appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than 
two years. 

Raising and Supporting Armies. — Under the Articles 
of Confederation Congress could declare war but it had no 
power to raise and support armies. It could demand the 
maintenance of a militia by each state for common defense, 
but it had no power to enforce its own action. The feel- 
ing was thoroughly established in the minds of the great 
statesmen during the Revolutionary War that this system 
was not only inadequate but dangerous. The consti- 
tutional convention accordingly had no hesitation in giving 
Congress power to raise and support armies, though after- 
ward this provision was severely criticized by the states 
when the Constitution was submitted to them for rati- 
fication. 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS 115 

Maintaining Armies. — The right to declare war is one 
of national sovereignty. The constitutional convention 
recognized this fact in placing a restriction on Congress 
by declaring that an appropriation of money for this pur- 
pose should not be for a longer term than two years. This 
restriction practically places the standing army in the 
control of the people, for each new Congress is required to 
vote upon a bill authorizing a standing army and its sup- 
port. It is now the custom for Congress to vote on this 
question annually. If one Congress should refuse to make 
the necessary appropriation, the army would be forced to 
disband. Under the two year restriction, the people have 
the power to regulate the size of the standing army and the 
number of military offices. This idea of control of the army 
doubtless came from the English Mutiny Act, which 
limited the crown's mfluence with the army. Regularly 
the army appropriation is made annually; but in 1863 
it was made for two years. Prior to 1898 we had a stand- 
ing army of only 27,000 men. Since 1901 the minimum 
has been 57,000, the maximum 100,000, and small though 
this number is when compared with even the smaller 
European states, it appears* to be adequate. 

Sec. 8, Clause 13. — To provide and maintain a navy. 

The Navy. — Our immense sea coast, dotted with many 
of our greatest cities, makes it necessary for this govern- 
ment to have a strong and well equipped navy disciplined 
and manned by trained men. It can also easily be seen 
that with our insular possessions to defend and the Panama 
Canal to guard, we should be in danger were we to become 
involved in a foreign war. No limit was put on providing 
money for the navy. After the War of 181 2 our navy 



Il6 THE NATION 

deteriorated, to be greatly increased during the Civil 
War, which brought forth ironclad vessels and revolu- 
tionized maritime warfare. At present, in time of peace, 
the nations are taxing their people for increased armaments, 
and no end is in sight unless it is achieved by international 
agreement. The recent development of submarine and 
aerial craft bids fair to make enormous vessels practically 
useless. For the support of the army and navy, Congress 
appropriated for 1913-1914 over $235,000,000. Two bat- 
tleships of the modern type required an appropriation of 
$32,000,000. Our naval rank in 1914 was third among 
the nations, with thirty-six battleships in commission or 
under construction. 

Sec. 8, Clause 14. — To make rules for the government and regu- 
lation of the land and naval forces. 

The Military Law. — Under this clause Congress has 
prescribed a code of rules known as the " military law " 
for the discipline, government, and regulation of the army 
and navy. Members of the army and navy who violate 
their respective codes, are tried by a court martial, and 
punished according to the law. For capital punishment 
and in a few other cases, the approval of the President is 
necessary. 

Sec. 8, Clause 15. — To provide for calling forth the militia 
to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel 
invasions. 

The Militia. — Besides the standing army, the defense 
of the country is provided for by the militia. Congress 
has declared that " all citizens, and those who have declared 
their intention to become such, between the ages of eighteen 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS 117 

and forty-five," compose the militia of the United States. If 
Congress did not have power to call on the citizens in time of 
war, it would be necessary to have a larger standing army. 
Americans are intensely patriotic, and the unorganized 
and organized militia can always be relied upon to respond 
to the national call to execute the laws, suppress insurrec- 
tions, and repel invasions. Congress has given the Presi- 
dent the power to call out the militia in certain emergencies. 
The national guard constitutes the organized part of the 
militia. This portion of the militia is equipped, drilled, and 
officered by the states according to rules prescribed by 
Congress. The Spanish-American war found it poorly 
organized and equipped. In 1903 it was reorganized and 
strengthened under an act of Congress providing for closer 
cooperation between state and national military authorities 
and is known as the National Guard. When the militia 
is needed, the President makes the call through the 
governors of the states. The militia was called out during 
the Whisky Rebellion, the War of 181 2, the Mexican War, 
and the Civil War. Militiamen were also enrolled as 
volunteers during the Spanish War, and to suppress the 
Philippine insurrection. 

Sec. 8, Clause 16. — To provide for organizing, arming and 
disciplining the militia, and for governing such part of them as may 
be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states 
respectively the appointment of the officers, and the authority of 
training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Con- 
gress. 

Rights reserved to States. — It will be observed that 
while this clause imposes upon the national government 
certain duties, it at the same time recognizes important 



Il8 THE NATION 

rights that belong to the states. Congress prescribes uni- 
form rules for the training of the militia, but reserves " to 
the states respectively the appointment of the officers and 
the authority of training the militia." 

Sec. 8, Clause 17. — To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases 
whatsoever over such district {not exceeding ten miles square) as may, 
by cession of particular states and the acceptance of Congress, become 
the seat of government of the United States, and to exercise like au- 
thority over all places purchased by the consent of the Legislature of 
the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, 
arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings. 

Government of the District of Columbia. — On one occa- 
sion during the Confederation, when the Congress was in 
session in Philadelphia in 1783, it was surrounded by a 
mob of mutineers from the American army. Unable to 
protect itself, it was subjected to insults, and, as the civil 
authority of the state of Pennsylvania offered no protec- 
tion, it was forced to go to Princeton, New Jersey, in order 
to escape violence. Many of the members of this Congress 
were afterward members of the constitutional convention. 
Citing their experience of 1783, they had no trouble in 
convincing the majority of the members of the convention 
that the United States should have absolute control over 
its seat of government, in order to guard against any future 
embarrassment and danger that might arise from any source. 
This clause gives the government also an opportunity to 
protect its public buildings, archives, and other property 
and interests. 

Federal Territory. — The territory now occupied by 
the District of Columbia was ceded by Maryland to the 
United States. Virginia also ceded territory, the two states 
combined giving one hundred square miles. But that 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS 119 

part of the territory, ceded by Virginia was returned to 
Virginia nearly sixty years afterward by an act of Congress. 
The present District of Columbia contains less than seventy 
square miles. The location of the federal capital on the 
Potomac was accomplished by the passage of a bill through 
the influence of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. 

Present Government of the District. — The District 
of Columbia is neither a state nor a territory. It is not 
governed by the people of the District of Columbia, but 
by Congress. Its government was vested, by an act of 
Congress approved June 11, 1878, in three commissioners 
appointed by the President with the consent of the Senate. 
Two of these commissioners must be citizens of the Dis- 
trict who have had three years' residence therein imme- 
diately preceding their appointment. The other commis- 
sioner is selected from the corps of engineers of the United 
States army. Congress is the legislative body of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia. However, it has intrusted to the com- 
missioners authority to make police regulations, building 
regulations, plumbing regulations, and other regulations 
of a municipal nature. Each house of Congress has a 
committee on the District of Columbia which prepares 
measures for its government. 

Suffrage and Taxation. — The inhabitants of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia have no political rights. They have no 
right to vote. The federal government pays one half of 
the expenses of the local government, the property owners 
of the District the other half. 

Sec. 8, Clause 18. — To make all laws which shall be necessary 
and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all 
other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the 
United States or in any department or office thereof. 



120 THE NATION 

Implied Powers. — This clause does not grant any new 
power. The earnest student of government has already 
noticed that there is only an enumeration of powers of 
Congress in the Constitution, and no definitions. This 
clause has given rise to what are known as " implied 
powers." The Constitution says : " Congress has the 
power to borrow money on the credit of the United States," 
but it does not say that Congress has the power to issue 
bonds or other evidences of debt. This power, however, 
is implied and is necessary in order to carry into execution 
the expressed powers of Congress. Mr. McCreary, in his 
book on " Studies in Civics," speaking of the implied powers 
of the Constitution, says : " Congress has the power to 
declare war. By implication it has power to prosecute 
war by all legitimate methods known to international law. 
To that end it may confiscate the property of public enemies, 
foreign or domestic ; it may confiscate, therefore, their 
slaves." Congress would have great difficulty in patting 
into execution the directly specified powers of Congress with- 
out the exercise of the implied powers. Story says that 
this clause " neither enlarges any power specifically granted ; 
nor is it a grant of any new power to Congress. But it is 
merely a declaration for the removal of all uncertainty that 
the means of carrying into execution those, otherwise 
granted, are included in the grant. Whenever, therefore, a 
question arises concerning the constitutionality of a particu- 
lar power, the first question is, whether the power be ex- 
pressed in the Constitution. If it be, the question is decided. 
If it be not expressed, the next inquiry must be, whether it 
is properly an incident to an express power and necessary 
and proper to its execution. If it be, then it may be ex- 
ercised by Congress. If not, Congress cannot exercise it." 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS 121 

"The Elastic Clause." — Section 8, Clause 18 is fre- 
quently called the " elastic " or " sweeping " clause, since 
from the time of the first United States bank controversy, 
the question under this clause has been " what is really 
necessary? " Does the clause mean what is " necessary 
and expedient"? Since Jefferson's time the Democratic 
party has generally stood for a strict construction and 
interpretation of the Constitution, while the Federalist, 
Whig, and present Republican party have leaned more 
toward loose and implied construction. All of these parties 
when in power have held liberal views on federal powers 
and used them freely, while all of them when out of office 
have tended to be critical and strict in their views. 

Without having the limits of the federal government 
defined, the " elastic clause " may become dangerous if 
too liberally and loosely interpreted. On the other 
hand, its narrow interpretation would so cripple the 
national powers as to render the nation helpless in great 
emergencies. 

LIBRARY - REFERENCES 

Boynton : School Civics, ch. IX. 

Dawes : How We Are Governed, ch. III. 

Hart : Actual Government, ch. XIV. 

Haskin : The American Government, chs. VI, VIII, XIV. 

Hinsdale : American Government (4th ed.), ch. XXV. 

Garner : Government in the United States, ch. XIV. 

Guitteau: Government and Politics in the United States, ch. 
XXXV. 

Source Material and Supplementary Aids. — The Constitution. 
The Federalist. The Congressional Record. Copy of the naturali- 
zation act of 1906 from the bureau of immigration. Copy of a pass- 
port. The copyright law. Annual report of cabinet officers. 



122 THE NATION 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

i. Why was Congress, and not the states, given the power to lay 
and collect taxes? 

2. What is citizenship? Why has the federal government charge 
of naturalization ? 

3. Name the steps in the making of a citizen. 

4. What is bankruptcy? Does becoming a bankrupt free a 
debtor ? How is bankruptcy a test of character ? 

5. Why put the coinage of money under the federal government? 

6. Why must good money be closely guarded against counter- 
feiting? 

7. What is a post road? Distribution of post offices? How 
does the immensity of the post office business reflect on the character 
and intelligence of our citizenship ? 

8. Why grant copyrights and patents? How are they obtained? 

9. Why allow only Congress to declare war? What are letters of 
marque and reprisal? Why have nearly all nations stopped priva- 
teering ? 

10. Why is money voted the army only for two years at a time? 
Is our army too large ? Why ? 

11. Why have a large navy? Does the Monroe Doctrine affect 
the size of the American navy ? How ? 

12. Why does the federal government control the militia? What 
rights have the states with the militia ? 

13. Discuss the government of the District of Columbia. 

14. What is meant by implied powers ? State the " elastic clause." 
How is it useful ? How may it be abused ? 

QUESTIONS FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That we should have penny postage. 
Resolved, That the United States should maintain a larger 
standing army. 



CHAPTER IX 
FEDERAL CONTROL OF TAXATION AND COMMERCE 

The Constitution has the following specific references on 
Taxation : — 

Article i, Section 2, Clause 3. — Representative and direct 
taxes shall be apportioned among the several States . . . accord- 
ing to their respective numbers. ... 

Article I, Section 7, Clause 1. — All bills for raising revenue 
shall originate in the House of Representatives ; but the Senate may 
propose or concur with amendments as in other bills. 

Article I, Section 8, Clause 1. — The Congress shall have power 
to levy and collect taxes , duties , imposts and excises — but all duties, 
imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United Slates. 

Article I, Section 9, Clause 4. — No capitation or other direct 
tax shall be laid unless in proportion to the census or enumeration 
herein before directed to be taken. 1 

Article I, Section 9, Clause 5. — No tax or duty shall be laid 
on articles exported from any State. 

The Weakness of the Tax System under the Confedera- 
tion. — The raising of taxes has been a serious problem 
with all nations in all times. As has been stated, the supreme 
test of a government is to lay taxes equitably and collect 
them without serious opposition. This the United States 
did not do well under the Articles of Confederation, and 
the problem of taxation had much to do with the overthrow 

1 This clause has been set aside by Amendment XVI, so far as income taxes 
are concerned. 

123 



124 THE NATION 

of those Articles. Requisitions could be, and were, freely 
made, but the states responded only when it was convenient. 
By means of tariff duties some states taxed the commerce 
of other states, and soon a condition of unfairness, turmoil, 
and ill-feeling prevailed everywhere. 

The Nation given Power to levy Taxes. — In order to 
provide a fairer tax system, obtain proper support, and 
endow the national government with power and dignity, 
the Constitution made in 1787 gave the government the 
right to levy all taxes for its maintenance. Direct taxes 
were to be apportioned among the several states according 
to population ; duties, imposts, and excises must be uni- 
form over all the land. No duty or tax may be laid on 
articles exported from any state. By a decision of the 
Supreme Court it is optional with Congress whether it 
shall extend its powers to levy and collect taxes over the 
territories and the District of Columbia. 1 

Right Taxing Principles. — Devising an equitable tax 
system demands the best intelligence of every nation. No 
system ever devised has proved wholly satisfactory. Tar- 
iffs, excises, taxes on incomes, a per cent on individual 
expenditures, a levy on rents, and other items are employed 
by various nations for maintenance, and in all countries 
there is complaint. A national tax system to be fair ought 
to be uniform and equitable, so as to compel everybody to 
contribute according to his ability to pay. The tax should 
be universal and should reach everything designated to be 
taxed with every effort for fairness to the contributors. 
The tax system of a nation should provide for a cheap and 
convenient way of collecting the revenues and be such a 
system as would not lead to deception, falsehood, and fraud 

1 Longborough vs. Blake, 5 Wheaton, 317. 



FEDERAL CONTROL OF TAXATION AND COMMERCE 12$ 

on the part of the persons assessed. Above all, the system 
should not allow the absolute necessities of life to be heavily 
taxed, nor any one to .profit unfairly from the taxes. 

Annual Expense of the Government. — It will be of 
interest to know what our federal government costs annu- 
ally. The total ordinary receipts of the government for 
the fiscal year, ending June 30, 1913, were $724,111,230; 
the total ordinary expenditures for the same time were 
$682,770,706. The public debt less the cash in the treasury 
for the date given totals $1,050,000,000, which is about 
one third that of Great Britain, and considerably less than 
that of Germany. The cost of maintenance for the gov- 
ernment is constantly increasing as new demands are made 
with the new conditions to be met. 

Raising Revenue. — Under the Constitution we have 
direct and indirect taxes. By direct taxes is generally 
meant those paid directly by persons assessed, like a poll 
tax or a tax on real estate ; while by indirect taxes is meant 
those paid to the government by persons who shift the 
burden to others, in reality collecting the tax from the 
latter, as is the case with the tariff and excise duties. The 
greatest part of our federal revenue is raised by the excise 
and tariff duties, since our people prefer to pay taxes in- 
directly a little at a time on things used by them, even if 
such extra payments may amount to a far greater sum than 
would be necessary in direct taxes for the maintenance of 
the federal government. Only five times has the United 
States used the direct tax levy, the last time being in 1861. 

Kinds of Duties. — There are two kinds of tariff duties : 
specific and ad valorem. Specific duties are fixed on articles 
by weight, number, or measure; for example, $12 duty a 
dozen on men's hats ; ad valorem taxes are levied at a fixed 



126 THE NATION 

legal rate on the value of the goods ; for example, if the 
duty is fifty per cent on men's hats, and they are worth 
$24 a dozen, then the ad valorem duty will amount to $12. 
On some articles both duties are levied under our tariff 
laws, but on most things only one kind of duty is laid. 
Ad valorem duties are the fairer on the whole, since they 
rise and fall with the value of the commodity ; but they are 
more difficult to collect than the specific. Goods bought 
abroad are invoiced and priced, and a copy of the invoice 
is given the United States consul nearest to the place of 
purchase. The consul sends a copy of this to the customs 
official where the goods are to be landed. When the cargo 
arrives at the American port, the officials must see to it 
that the goods are as reported to the consul, must deter- 
mine by the law the amount of tax due, and must collect 
the duty. The importers may be punished for under- 
valuation and deception. Importers who may not want 
to sell their goods soon after arrival, may put them in bond 
for a period not to exceed three years, after which they 
must pay the duties or remove the goods. The largest 
port of entry in America is New York city. Two thirds 
of the whole foreign commerce of the United States comes 
through the custom house there, and over five thousand 
officials help to collect the customs at that port. In any 
.system of revenue collection, fraud and smuggling fre- 
quently develop among both importers and travelers. 
Cases of fraud in duty collections where officials have con- 
nived with importers have occurred at times, while smug- 
gling on the part of travelers is a matter of frequent occur- 
rence. 

The Underwood Tariff. — The Underwood Tariff Act 
became a law in October, 19 13. Its duties are so largely 



FEDERAL CONTROL OF TAXATION AND COMMERCE 1 27 

levied upon the value of commodities, that it may almost 
be called an ad valorem tariff. The act is arranged into 
schedules from the letters A to N inclusive ; for example, 
Schedule K — Wool and Manufactures Of. The aver- 
age rate of the new tariff duties as stated by its author will 
be about twenty-seven per cent, while the Payne-Aldrich 
Act, which it succeeded, averaged over forty per cent. 
While not framed with the idea of revenue only, the new 
tariff is a decided step in revision downward, and contains 
the largest free list in important commodities of all the 
tariff bills ever passed in the United States. Compared 
with the Payne-Aldrich law, the new law shows about 
940 reductions of duty, 85 increases, and about 300 rates 
unchanged. Nearly two thirds of the increases fall in 
Schedule A and deal with chemicals — mostly with chemi- 
cals used in making perfumery. The new law introduces 
the principle of a competitive tariff, intended to enable 
the domestic producer to compete on an even basis with 
the foreign producer. 

The Excise. — Internal duties, or excises, are levied on 
the manufacture and sale of various specified articles, prin- 
cipally whisky, beer, tobacco, opium, and oleomargarine. 
The United States is divided into revenue districts, each 
under the charge of a collector of internal revenue, an 
appointee of the treasury department. Under him are 
many subordinates who carry out the inspection necessary 
to see that articles are duly stamped and the taxes paid. 
During the fiscal year ending June 30, 19 13, the total 
internal revenue raised was $344,424,453, an increase from 
1912 of over $23,800,000. 

The Corporation Tax. — In the Payne-Aldrich tariff act 
of 1909 there was a provision that every corporation, joint 



128 THE NATION 

stock company, or association organized for profit and 
having a capital stock, and insurance companies organized 
under the laws of the United States, should pay annually 
a special excise tax of one per cent upon their net income 
over and above $5000. Many objections were urged 
against this act, the chief of which was that it encroached 
on a source of revenue due the states, and, as some of the 
states have corporation laws, it put an undue burden on 
corporations already heavily taxed by such states. Also, 
it was opposed by many corporations because it disclosed 
their private affairs, which they maintained might result in 
great injustice. Nearly $27,000,000 was raised the first 
year from 262,490 taxable corporations, whose net income 
was $3,125,481,101. The law was contested vigorously in 
the Supreme Court, but in 191 1 was held to be constitu- 
tional. 

The corporation tax act of 1909 was repealed by the 
passage of the income tax law of 19 13 except in so far as it 
related to the collection of taxes already accrued. How- 
ever, the essential features of the corporation act were em- 
bodied into the income tax measure. Every domestic cor- 
poration, joint stock company or association, insurance 
company, and every foreign corporation having capital in- 
vested and transacting business in the United States, must 
pay one per cent per annum of the " entire net income 
arising or accruing from all sources." From the gross in- 
comes of corporations there are reasonable deductions 
allowed for ordinary and necessary expenses paid for opera- 
tion, for maintenance, for actual losses, and for rentals. 
Returns of corporations computing the tax must be rendered 
annually on or before March first ; they are to be notified 
of the amount for which they are liable on or before June 



FEDERAL CONTROL OF TAXATION AND COMMERCE 1 29 

first ; and on or before June thirtieth, the assessment must 
be paid to the collectors. 

The Income Tax. — Income taxes are those levied on 
wages, salaries, or profits in business. Usually a certain 
amount of income is exempted from the tax. The theory 
is that persons whose incomes exceed a specified limit can 
better afford to pay the government a tax on the excess, 
since they get more value received from the government 
than people whose incomes are less than the limit specified. 
Daring the Civil War Congress passed a law taxing incomes 
as large as $600, but this law was repealed in 1872. The 
Supreme Court decided that it was an indirect taw and 
therefore constitutional. In 1894 a two per cent tax on all 
incomes over $4000 was provided as a part of the Wilson 
tariff bill. In 1895 the Supreme Court decided that such 
a tax is direct, and that it must therefore be apportioned 
among the states as provided for in the Constitution for 
direct taxes. In 19 13, Amendment XVI, allowing Congress 
to lay and collect taxes on incomes regardless of state ap- 
portionment, became a part of the Constitution. A new 
income tax law was passed in October, 1913, in connection 
with the Underwood Tariff Act. It levies taxes on incomes 
of single persons amounting to more than S3 000 annually, 
and of married persons amounting to more than S4000. 
The tax is one per cent upon the excess over those amounts 
up to $20,000 ; two per cent upon incomes in excess of 
$20,000 up to $50,000 ; three per cent upon incomes in 
excess of $50,000 up to $75,000 ; four per cent upon incomes 
in excess of $75,000 up to Sioo.ooo ; five per cent on in- 
comes in excess of $100,000 up to $250,000 ; six per cent on 
incomes in excess of $250,000 up to S500.000 ; and seven 
per cent on all sums exceeding $^00,000. Rules and regula- 



130 THE NATION 

tions for the collecting of the income tax are under the 
direction of the secretary of the treasury. A lowering of 
customs duties and the placing of many articles on the free 
list will probably reduce the government's income from the 
tariff. To make up the deficiency, it is expected that the 
income and corporation taxes will produce about $70,000,000 
revenue for 1914. The income tax law is complex, but 
after experience has tested it and the rulings of courts have 
interpreted the more complicated provisions, it will no 
doubt become a satisfactory and permanent part of our 
national revenue laws. 

Commerce. — Trade, particularly interstate trade, more 
than anything else caused constant trouble to the federal 
government under the old Confederation. The meetings 
at Alexandria and Annapolis which were preliminary to the 
constitutional convention at Philadelphia, grew out of 
these interstate commercial quarrels. The Constitution 
has the following references to commerce : 

Article I, Section 8, Clause 3. — The Congress shall have power 
to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several 
States and with the Indian tribes. 

Article I, Section 9, Clause 5. — No tax or duty shall be laid on 
articles exported from any State. 

Article I, Section 9, Clause 6. — No preference shall be given 
by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one State 
over those of another; nor shall vessels bound to or from one State 
be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another. 

Regulation of Foreign Commerce. — The power to regu- 
late foreign commerce is almost absolute in Congress, 
except that it must not be partial to one port over another, 
or lay a tax or duty on articles exported from any state. 
Congress may prohibit commerce entirely, or refuse to 



FEDERAL CONTROL OF TAXATION AND COMMERCE 131 

allow trade with certain countries. By statute, Congress 
has prescribed rules for vessels engaged in foreign commerce. 
Ships are registered, and thereby get the protection of our 
government the world over. Until 19 14, only American- 
built vessels or foreign vessels purchased within five years 
after they were built could be registered, and then only if 
owned by Americans. Tonnage duties are levied alike 
on American and on foreign vessels, but no foreign ships 
may engage in the coast trade of the United States. 

The nation has had, from its beginning, a tariff on some 
articles, and until recently the elections have usually in- 
dorsed the high protection principle. Year by year, for the 
last two decades, we have gradually fallen off in the ex- 
porting of foodstuffs, and should the present rate of de- 
crease continue, and the forms of production and the amount 
produced be relatively the same, and the rate of increase 
of our population remain the same, we shall almost entirely 
cease exporting foodstuffs in another decade ; on the other 
hand, our exportations of partly manufactured articles 
and finished products have heavily increased — from 
$496,000,000 in 1900 to 8827,000,000 in 19 10. With the 
increase of manufactures and the change in the character 
of our exports, there has come a change in the opinion of 
many in regard to protective tariffs — as evidenced by the 
recent changes in the revenue laws. 

Interstate Trade. — Congress may control all interstate 
commerce. It is sometimes a difficult question to deter- 
mine what is interstate and what state commerce. The 
power of the state is complete over commerce wholly within 
its own limits. However, to-day most commerce is inter- 
state, since carriers by land and water are generally for 
the most part engaged in interstate traffic. So are also the 



132 THE NATION 

many large corporations doing business. The question of 
regulating railroads and freight rates at once arises in con- 
sidering interstate trade. Railroad consolidation has gone 
on until, in many instances, competition has been destroyed. 
Exorbitant rates have been charged, and unfair discrimina- 
tions have been made against certain parties, generally 
smaller concerns, and against certain places, while favoritism 
in rates, and in the number of cars furnished, has been shown 
large shippers to the detriment of the smaller competitors. 
Interstate Commerce Commission. — On February 4, 
1887, the first law was passed by Congress to regulate rail- 
roads and to prevent unjust passenger and freight rates 
and unfair discrimination. To enforce this law an inter- 
state commerce commission was created, consisting of five 
persons appointed by the President and confirmed by the 
Senate. This commission was given power to supervise 
railroads, stop rebates, and give publicity to rates which 
could not be lowered or raised without notice. The rail- 
roads feared the power of the commission and attacked the 
law. Even with amendments, the commission could do 
but little to enforce this law prior to 1906, as its principal 
features had been eliminated by adverse court decisions. 
The commission had given, however, a great deal of pub- 
licity to the methods of business practiced by the so-called 
common carriers, such as railroads and steamships, and 
thus educated the public. In 1906 Congress passed the 
Hepburn Act, which increased the commission to seven 
members, included sleeping cars, pipe lines, and express 
companies within its jurisdiction, and empowered it to fix 
" just and reasonable rates." The United States courts 
could interfere with the work of the commission only when 
it exceeded its powers. 



FEDERAL CONTROL OF TAXATION AND COMMERCE 133 

The Hepburn Act provided heavy penalties for violations 
of the act, and some railroad companies did not like it. 
When the panic came on in 1907 the railroads laid the 
cause to this act, but this could not be proved. The con- 
trary now seems true.. In June, 1910, the Mann-Elkins 
law was passed still further strengthening the powers of 
the commission over common carriers. Telegraph, tele- 
phone, and cable companies were made subject to its 
orders. It ought really to have control of through freight 
rates on imports to be able to do full justice. The burden 
of proof is now upon the carriers of commerce, and the com- 
mission may investigate on its own initiative. That the 
commission has become a real factor in regulating rates is 
shown by its success in compelling certain railroads to 
lower the price of upper Pullman berths, in preventing a 
decided increase in freight rates early in 191 1 and in 19 14 
by a large number of trunk lines, and in compelling express 
companies in 1914 to lower their rates to about four fifths of 
their former charges. Congress has recently required rail- 
roads engaged in interstate commerce to equip their cars 
with all the best known safety appliances, has passed an 
employers' liability act, and an act forbidding the shipment 
of intoxicating liquor from any state or territory in the 
United States, or from any foreign country, into any other 
state or territory, either in original packages or otherwise, 
if such shipment is in violation of law in such state or 
territory. 

United States Board of Mediation and Conciliation. — 
The Erdman Act of 1898, which related to the settlement 
of labor controversies on railroads, was repealed in July, 
1 9 13. Instead there is established a federal board of media- 
tion and conciliation. This board consists of a cbmmis- 



134 ™ E NATION 

sioner of mediation and conciliation whose term is seven 
years, at a salary of $7500 a year ; an assistant commissioner 
at $5000 per annum, and not more than two other govern- 
ment officials, all to be appointed by the President and 
confirmed by the Senate. The duty of this board is to 
endeavor to reach an agreement amicably, in any contro- 
versy over wages, hours, or conditions of employment, aris- 
ing between any interstate railroad and its employees. 
Should the board fail in getting an adjustment, its duty 
then is to induce the parties to submit the controversy to 
arbitration. 

Trust Regulation. — Sharp competition, and the desire 
to economize in expenditures of management, led to gigantic 
business corporations. The term " trust " is difficult to 
define, but in general it means a union of corporations 
mutually interested in avoiding competition and in econo- 
mizing effort. It obtains its charter from some state, 
operates wherever it pleases, unless it is shut out by state 
law, and is beneficial or a detriment to the community, 
according to whether it does or does not have a monopoly 
of the sale of any commodity. In 1890 came the first anti- 
trust law, properly known as the Sherman Antitrust Act. 
The Supreme Court soon held that this act related to rail- 
roads as well as to other industrial corporations which are 
in restraint of trade among the states or with foreign 
nations. The government's greatest victory was in the 
prevention of the plans of the Northern Securities Com- 
pany to unite and consolidate two competing railroads, the 
Northern Pacific and the Great Northern. The government 
has also won in cases like the prosecution of the Tobacco 
Trust, and Standard Oil cases. The Supreme Court dis- 
solved these gigantic corporations and ordered them to 



FEDERAL CONTROL OF TAXATION AND COMMERCE 135 

separate into the different companies and corporations 
which had been integrated and absorbed. The purpose of 
the government is to reestablish competition. Many other 
trusts have voluntarily dissolved since the Supreme Court 
decision against their legality. The political and economic 
effects of these decisions are problems yet to be determined. 
The sixty- third Congress is now (1914) at work upon a 
number of trust regulation bills. 

Commercial Tendencies. — There has been an awaken- 
ing of public conscience against unfair treatment in trade. 
Practices formerly tolerated are no longer allowed. Public 
corporations, such as railroads and those that are quasi- 
public, are slowly but surely learning that the public upon 
which they depend for the earning of dividends is entitled 
to consideration and fair treatment. Fairer business stand- 
ards prevail, and if public sentiment can keep these ad- 
vancing, and government officials are true to their trust 
and enforce the laws, a new commercial era will result. 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

American Year Book, 1910, 1912, 1913. 
Bryce : The American Commonwealth, I, 3d ed., ch. XVII. 
Davenport: Outlines of Economic Theories, 213-221 ; 224-280. 
Fish : The Development of American Nationality, ch. XXVI. 
Forman : Advanced Civics, chs. XXV, XXXVI, XXXIX. 
Garner : Government of the United States, chs. XII, XIII. 
Hart : Actual Government, 387-404 ; 446-456. 
Hinsdale: American Government (4th ed.), 194-198. 
James and Sanford : Government in State and Nation, rev. 
ed., chs. XYTI, XVIII. 

Johnston and Woodburn : American Political System, 355-391. 
Kaye : Reading in Civil Government, chs. XVII, XXI. 
Reinsch : Readings on the American Federal State, ch. VIII. 
Taussig: Tariff History (3d ed.), 8-25 ; 109-170; 251-253. 



136 THE NATION 

Source Material and Supplementary Aids. — The annual report 
of the secretary of the treasury. The annual report of the interstate 
commerce commission. A copy of the present tariff law and revisions 
which may come from time to time. A copy of the Sherman anti- 
trust law. The income tax law. 



• SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. Why was the nation given the taxing power? 

2. What are right and wrong taxing principles? 

3. What is about the annual expense of the national government? 

4. Kinds of duties ? How levied ? How collected ? 

5. What is meant by the free list? Name some articles that are 
taxed and some that are on the free list. 

6. Define excise. How collected? 

7. Define the corporation tax. The income tax. 

8. Why is the matter of raising revenue so hard a problem ? 

9. How is foreign commerce regulated? Why is the exportation 
of foodstuffs rapidly declining ? 

10. What is interstate trade? What is a common carrier? 

11. What is the nature and purpose of the interstate commerce 
commission ? 

12. Define a trust. What is the Sherman anti-trust law ? 

13. Should a monopoly ever exist ? Why? 

QUESTIONS FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That the American merchant marine should be built 
up by an annual subsidy. 

Resolved, That direct taxation is a better method of raising revenue 
than a tariff. 



CHAPTER X 

FEDERAL CONTROL OF MONEY AND BANKS 

. Excepting taxation and commerce, no other subject in 
the life of the American people has caused as much dis- 
cussion and thought, often more discussion than thought, 
as money and banking. On account of its great importance, 
a separate chapter is devoted to it in addition to the brief 
space already given it. The Constitution has the following 
references to money : — 

Article I, Section 8, Clause 2. — The Congress shall have power 
. . . to borrow money on the credit of the United States. 

Article I, Section 8, Clause 5. — To coin money, regulate the 
value thereof, and of foreign coin. 

Article I, Sec. 8, Clause 6. — To provide for the punishment 
of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States. 

Article I, Section 10, Clause 1. — No State shall . . . coin 
money, emit bills of credit, or make anything but gold and silver coin 
a tender in payment of debts. 

Money before the Constitution. — Money is anything 
that measures values, serves as a medium of exchange, and 
is a tender in payment of debts. Pioneers use things most 
convenient to them for neighborhood trade. In early 
colonial days, the American pioneers were no exception to 
this rule, so we find barter and trading among them, and 
between them and the Indians. In Virginia and Mary- 
land for more than two centuries tobacco passed as cur- 
rency. It sold in England readily, and hence was generally 

137 



I3§ THE NATION 

accepted. It was, however, a poor currency, since it 
fluctuated greatly in value from year to year as the crop 
was large or small. Wampum and furs were commonly 
used in New England. Nothing else, however, is so desir- 
able for a medium of exchange as metals, and they have 
always been used whenever obtainable. Metal money was 
in use from the beginning of colonial life where there was 
foreign commerce. In 1652 Massachusetts set up a mint, 
and coined pinetree shillings, which were made less valu- 
able than the English shilling, so that they would stay in 
America. The money most used in colonial time was the 
Spanish silver dollar and its fractions, the dollar being 
rated at 100 cents and the New England shilling at i6f 
cents, one sixth of a dollar. Other colonies put different 
values upon the different coins, and often they were shame- 
fully clipped. In 1704, by England's royal proclamation, 
Spanish money was to be accepted in the colonies at a 
definite value, the dollar, for instance, being listed at only 
six shillings. Some paper money was issued by the colonies 
before the Revolution, much was issued by the Continental 
Congress during that war, and much was issued by the 
states during the so-called Critical Period of our history 
from 1783-87. Under authority of the state government, 
a little metal money was coined before the Constitution. 
In 1785, the Spanish dollar was declared the money unit 
of the country, and the decimal ratio was established. It 
was this mixed and unsatisfactory condition of colonial 
finances existing at the time of the Constitution that 
caused the framers to vest the sole right of coining money 
in the federal government. 

The Borrowing Power. — Every government must have 
the power to borrow money, as in cases of emergency or 



FEDERAL CONTROL OF MONEY AND BANKS 1 39 

extraordinary expense this power might save the life of the 
nation. The ability to borrow depends on the general 
standing of a nation, on its resources, and on its reputation 
for meeting its obligations. Congress holds this power of 
borrowing for the nation under the Constitution, and ordi- 
narily secures its loans in the following ways : First, by sell- 
ing bonds, which are the government's promises to pay 
definite sums at definite times, at a specified rate of interest. 
For example, the bonds issued in 1898 for the expense of the 
Spanish-American war were 10/20's ; that is, they were 
payable at the option of the government after ten years, 
but payment was not due for twenty years. They bore 
three per cent interest. Second, Congress borrows by issu- 
ing treasury notes, sometimes called bills of credit. Some 
of these bear interest, but most do not ; some are payable 
to order, some to bearer; some are legal tender, some are 
not. In 1 86 2 , Congress authorized various issues of treasury 
notes, usually called greenbacks. In actual fact they were 
forced loans, since they represented promises of the govern- 
ment to pay for property bought or loans made, and bear 
no interest. These notes, about $346,000,000, are now, 
since 1900, redeemable in gold, and a gold reserve of 
$150,000,000 is set aside in the treasury for their redemption. 
Coining and Regulating the Value of Money. — Congress, 
having been given the power to coin money and regulate 
its value, passed the first coinage law in 1792. This act 
provided for the free coinage of gold and silver. As to the 
regulating of the value of money all Congress could do was 
to determine the relative value of gold and silver. Under 
the act of 1792, the ratio was 15 to 1 ; that is, fifteen 
ounces of silver were coined into as many dollars as one 
ounce of gold. A gold dollar at first contained 24! grains 



140 THE NATION 

of pure metal, and the silver dollar 3 7 if grains. Gold or 
silver bullion is assayed and its purity determined. The 
pure metal is too soft for long wear, so one tenth alloy is 
added ; hence our coins are nine tenths fine. Gold and 
silver have been legal tender since the origin of the govern- 
ment, although, as will be seen, the ratio in the value has 
changed from time to time. Legal tender is money which 
a creditor must accept in payment of a debt. By free coin- 
age is meant that the government charges nothing for coin- 
ing gold or silver into the coin of the nation. The owner 
gets ounce for ounce of his metal. 

It was soon found impossible to keep gold and silver at 
the established ratio. In 1834, it was found that gold was 
worth more than 15 to 1, almost 16 to 1 in silver. A prin- 
ciple known as Gresham's law, which is that cheaper money 
drives dearer money out or into hiding, was found to be in 
operation then ; people were using silver in making pur- 
chases and paying debts, while gold was hoarded or sent 
abroad, where it was higher. To check this, Congress re- 
duced the size of the gold dollar to 23.22 grains of pure metal, 
and let the silver dollar remain at 371.25 grains of 
pure silver. The ratio was now nearly 16 to 1. Soon came 
immense quantities of gold from Australia and California. 
Now Gresham's law came into operation again ; but as 
gold was now cheaper at the government ratio, this time 
silver was driven from circulation. Little silver was coined 
from 1837 to 1873, except in minor coins less than one 
dollar. This was due to the increased relative value of 
silver, and an act was passed in 1853 which virtually left 
the silver dollar only nominally a part of the coinage parity 
and circulating money of the nation. In 1873, gold was 
declared the unit of value and silver was demonetized. 



FEDERAL CONTROL OF MONEY AND BANKS I4I 

This has been sometimes styled the kk Crime of 1S73." 
Demonetization of silver was. however, the natural result 
of conditions at that time. For many years practically no 
silver dollars had been in circulation, for the silver in a 
dollar was worth, as metal, more than a dollar. Many 
European countries had by 1873 adopted gold as the single 
standard. 

The Bland- Allison Act of 1878. — Soon after 1873. how- 
ever, there was an increased production of silver, and the 
value of that metal declined. The demand for the restora- 
tion of free coinage of silver became strong in 1876. and a 
free coinage act,, offered by Mr. Bland, of Missouri, was 
passed by the House of Representatives. The Senate, 
imder the leadership of Mr. Allison of Iowa, amended the 
House bill so that the government had to buy not less than 
two million dollars' worth, nor over four million dollars' 
worth of silver bullion each month, and coin it into silver 
dollars to be full legal tender. President Hayes vetoed the 
bill as a dangerous inflation act. but it passed over his veto, 
and was in force twelve years, and under it 8378,166,793 in 
silver were coined. However, only S5 7. 000. 00c of this 
went into circulation as silver dollars, the remainder cir- 
culating in the form of silver certificates issued to represent 
silver deposited in the treasury. The disparity of the metals 
was not removed by this legislation, although silver did rise 
somewhat in value. 

The Sherman Act of 1890. — In 1890. a free coinage act 
was passed by the Senate. The House refused to accept 
the bill, and the result of a compromise was the Sherman 
Act. It provided that the secretary of the treasury should 
buy 4.500.000 ounces of silver bullion each month at the 
market value, and pay for it with treasury notes which 



142 THE NATION 

were to be legal tender in payment of all debts, public or 
private, unless otherwise stipulated in contracts. These 
notes could be redeemed by the secretary of the treasury 
in gold, and he was to keep silver and gold on a parity 
with each other at the legal ratio. One hundred and sixty- 
eight million ounces of silver were bought under this act, 
$36,000,000 were coined into dollars, and $156,000,000 in 
treasury notes were issued. Silver rose for a time, then 
dropped; gold went abroad heavily. In 1893, India de- 
monetized silver, which fell from 82 cents to 67 cents an 
ounce in three days. The $100,000,000 gold reserve set 
apart to redeem greenbacks was being used for the redemp- 
tion of treasury notes in gold, and the panic of 1893 had 
started. One hundred fifty-eight national banks failed, 
one hundred fifty-three in the West and South ; one hun- 
dred seventy-two state banks and one hundred seventy- 
two private banks failed in 1893 alone. Everywhere gold 
was demanded, and it could be and was exported at a 
profit. Congress was called into extra session, the Sherman 
law was repealed October 30, 1893, an d the undue inflation 
for the future was stopped. But silver legislation was by 
no means the only cause of the hard times from 1 893-1 897. 
Money Legislation since 1893. — Since 1893, the country 
has virtually been on a gold basis, and no silver has been 
bought. In 1896, there was an excited campaign on the 
free-coinage issue, but its advocates were defeated, as was 
the case again in 1900. In 1900, gold was made the sole 
standard and was allowed free coinage. Silver dollars, from 
silver already owned, have been coined in small quantities 
occasionally, and they and silver certificates are still legal 
tender and may, on demand, be redeemed in gold. The 
silver question has always been rather a hard-times issue 



FEDERAL CONTROL OF MONEY AND BANKS 1 43 

and due largely to a period of low prices in agricultural 
products. 

Subsidiary Silver Coinage. — Silver coins under the value 
of a dollar are called subsidiary coins, or fractional cur- 
rency. They are made subsidiary by slightly reducing the 
amount of silver in them ; for example, there is somewhat 
less silver in ten dimes or two half dollars than in a silver 
dollar. The subsidiary coins are legal tender to the amount 
of ten dollars. Below the silver fractional currency are the 
five-cent piece, composed of three fourths copper and one 
fourth nickel, and the one-cent piece, which is ninety-five 
per cent copper and five per cent tin and zinc. These are 
legal tender to the amount of twenty-five cents. 

Bimetallism. — During the time of the exciting contests 
over the money question, especially from 1890 to 1900, 
much was heard of bimetallism, which means the use of 
two metals as standard money. Those who favored free 
coinage of silver (as well as gold) in unlimited quantities 
argued in favor of bimetallism, claiming that there was not 
gold enough in the world for its business, and that only 
a double standard could prevent fluctuations of prices. 
Monometallism, they maintained, had always produced a 
fall of prices. This was combated by the single-standard 
advocates, who insisted there was always plenty of gold, 
that legal attempts at keeping the metals at a parity are 
unsuccessful, and that the cheaper metal drives the dearer 
metal from the country. International bimetallists argue 
in favor of both metals at a legal ratio fixed and agreed 
upon by the leading commercial nations of the world, and 
efforts to come to an understanding on this have been 
made by several conferences but never successfully. The 
idea of international bimetallism served as an easy step 



144 THE NATION 

to wean the country from the advocacy of a bimetallic 
standard for itself independently. 

Although prices were less for many years after 1893, they 
rose again when many new gold mines were opened. The 
increased supply of gold put an end to the agitation for 
free coinage of silver. 

Present Status of Gold and Silver. — The coinage system 
of this country has almost from the beginning been used by 
politicians to further their ends, and perhaps on no other 
question has there been so much rash and dangerous experi- 
menting accompanied with so great a loss. Leading polit- 
ical parties have, since the Civil War, been on all sides of 
coinage questions. Summing up briefly, we have to-day : — 

1. The federal government in complete control of all 
coinage. 

2. The gold dollar of 25.8 grains standard gold is the sole 
standard in the United States. All gold is coined free, but 
an act was passed (191 1) which stopped coinage for about 
three years, and gold certificates will be issued instead, 
secured by gold bullion and foreign coin. 

3. Silver dollars of 412.5 grains standard silver, and 
silver certificates are exchangeable in gold and greenbacks, 
and Sherman treasury notes are redeemable in gold ; for 
this purpose a reserve fund of $150,000,000 is always kept 
on hand in the treasury. 

Paper Money. — The word " currency " includes both 
metallic and paper money, and since paper money has been 
a very important factor in our country's history, it will be 
considered next. Paper currency is generally printed and 
issued by a government under economic pressure, when 
metallic currency is scarce and hard to obtain. It is 
either a substitute for real metallic money, or it is composed 



FEDERAL CONTROL OF MONEY AND BANKS 1 45 

of notes of the government — an evidence of debt to be 
paid at some future period when it is in better financial 
condition. Paper money is generally partial or full legal 
tender, and the creditors must accept it. Sometimes, as was 
the greenback originally, the paper money was irredeem- 
able, but was made legal tender by law through the gov- 
ernment's fiat. This paper money has been issued all 
through the history of our country, and has, until recently, 
since the resumption of specie payment in 1879, always 
been subject to fluctuations of value. Great care is neces- 
sary in issuing paper money, so that it will not produce un- 
natural inflation of prices and then a period of depression, 
when the paper money falls into depreciation and discredit. 

In 1 79 1, there was a United States Bank chartered for 
twenty years which issued $5,000,000 in paper notes, which 
were paid and canceled when it expired. A second United 
States Bank was chartered in 18 16, for twenty years, and it 
issued $25,000,000 in legal tender paper notes, which occa- 
sionally depreciated, but were finally redeemed at face 
value. When the charter expired in 1836, it was not 
renewed. 

Kinds of Paper Money To-day. — There are to-day five 
kinds of paper money in use in the United States. 

Early in the Civil War the government ran out of money, 
could not get gold and silver, and hence had to suspend 
specie payment. In 1862, it issued a large sum of paper 
money called United States notes, promises to pay, 
$449,000,000 in all. These bills were popularly called 
greenbacks, and the government made them legal tender. 
After the war was over, the redemption of these notes began, 
but it was stopped in 1868. About $346,680,000 are still 
in circulation. The greenback has caused much financial 



146 THE NATION 

discussion, and like other parts of our financial system, got 
into politics. It is practically certain that the framers of 
the Constitution meant to limit the money of the country 
to gold and silver. The government's fiat made the green- 
backs legal tender, except for duties on imports and interest 
on the public debt, and people had to take them, though 
they greatly depreciated during the Civil War. Not until 
1879, at the resumption of specie payments, did they reach 
par with gold. Probably only the great need of the govern- 
ment allowed them finally to be declared legal by the 
Supreme Court in 187 1, after having declared them illegal 
once. The greenbacks are now interchangeable for gold, 
hence they are no longer an irredeemable currency. 

Silver certificates are issued instead of silver dollars by 
the treasury, as are gold certificates instead of gold, each 
of the two kinds of certificates being issued only when the 
coined metal is deposited. 

A fourth kind of paper money now is the Sherman 
treasury note before mentioned, issued in 1890, and redeem- 
able in either gold or silver, but the law creating them also 
said that the two metals must be kept on a parity at sixteen 
to one. About $150,000,000 was issued in these notes, but 
gradually they have been retired, until only $2,590,000 re- 
mained by October 31, 19 13. Bonds had to be sold after 
the panic of 1 893-1894 to keep all treasury notes at par, 
since the reserve of $100,000,000 to redeem them was de- 
pleted. It has been stated that since 1900, $150,000,000 in 
gold is kept as a reserve to redeem any United States notes. 
The government loses the use of this amount of money on 
account of its promissory notes in currency. 

The fifth kind of paper money is the national bank note 
and the federal reserve note, which will be considered farther 



FEDERAL CONTROL OF MONEY AND BANKS 1 47 

on in this chapter under National Banks and the Federal 
Reserve Act. The total amount of money in circulation in 
the United States is estimated to be (1913) $3,693,221,568 ; 
the circulation per capita $34.90. 

State Banks. — State banks were established before the 
adoption of the Constitution, but there were only a few 
when the first United States Bank was created. By the 
time of the downfall of the second United States Bank in 
1837, there were nearly eight hundred state banks in the 
country. They were enemies of the United States Bank, 
and instrumental in destroying it, largely because of jealousy 
and the fact that any notes issued by states were not, as 
were those of the United States Bank, legal tender for all 
debts. It has always been a question whether state banks 
should have been allowed to issue paper money under the 
prohibition of the Constitution forbidding a state to emit 
bills of credit. However, after the second United States 
Bank was destroyed, Congress virtually turned the issuing 
of paper money over to the states, and in 1837, the Supreme 
Court decided that the state banks could issue bank notes 
if they would not try to make them legal tender, which 
is specifically forbidden by the Constitution. The West 
especially wanted cheap money and plenty of it. Matters 
grew chaotic. By 1861 there were about sixteen hundred 
state banks in the various states, all issuing paper money. 
The paper money of the states was not legal tender ; it 
consisted of promises to pay, and it was optional with a 
creditor whether to take it or not. In most of the states 
the banking laws were lax, and many banks issuing paper 
money did it as wildcat speculation, without coin to redeem 
it, and difficulties multiplied in times of financial distress 
and uncertainty. By December, 1861, all banks suspended 



I48 THE NATION 

specie payment. In 1865, after the national banks had 
been created, a tax of ten per cent was put on the circulation 
of state banks by Congress. This tax on the paper money 
of the state banks was upheld by the Supreme Court, and 
all state banks were forced to stop issuing notes, but could 
do other banking business under state laws and charters. 

National Banks. — Civil war put the nation to a supreme 
test financially. In 1862, Secretary Chase recommended 
that the national government alone should issue money. 
By laws passed in 1863 and 1865, a system of national 
banks was created. The laws concerning the organization 
of national banks have been amended many times. At 
present these banks are organized by the federal govern- 
ment in much the same way as other corporations are 
organized by the states. There must be not fewer than 
five persons to start a bank ; $25,000 capital is the minimum 
capital required, and so low a sum is allowable only in towns 
of fewer than 3000 inhabitants ; while in places of between 
3000 and 6000, $50,000 capital is required ; in places of 
between 6000 and 50,000 inhabitants $100,000 is required ; 
and in places of more than 50,000, the capital must be 
$200,000 or more. 

National banks are subject to inspection at all times by 
government inspectors. An officer, called the comptroller 
of the currency, has general oversight over them. A charter 
is given on application, after the banking association has 
complied with the law. Formerly the bank Was required 
to invest a part of its capital in United States bonds ; since 
1 9 13, it has been permitted to do so if it wishes. These 
bonds are deposited in the United States Treasury, but the 
banks draw the interest on them. The sale of these bonds 
during the Civil War gave the government a large sum of 



FEDERAL CONTROL OF MONEY AND BANKS 1 49 

currency from all parts of the nation. The national bank 
gets from the comptroller of the treasury, paper-money 
bank notes to the full amount of the security bonds deposited. 
These notes, ranging in value from five dollars upward, are 
printed and complete except for the signature of the presi- 
dent and cashier of the bank receiving them. They are 
not, however, legal tender, being merely promises to pay, 
but they are as safe as the government bonds and other de- 
posited securities which secure them ; for, when a national 
bank fails, the United States treasury pays its outstanding 
notes, and keeps the bonds. In addition to the main 
treasury at Washington and nine subtreasuries in different 
parts of the Union, national banks so designated by the 
secretary of the treasury, as well as the newly created 
federal reserve banks, hold the revenues of the government 
and act as fiscal agents of the United States when requested 
to do so by the treasury department. 

Savings Banks. — Savings banks, which are organized 
and controlled by the states, have arisen all over the coun- 
try, especially in the East. These banks accept small de- 
posits, as small as ten cents, after an initial deposit, generally 
of one dollar, has been made, and this money, if left for a 
given period of time, bears a small rate of interest. These 
banks encourage thrift, and add greatly to the economic 
strength of a community. The fiscal year ending June 30, 
1 9 10, showed 1759 savings banks with deposits of over 
$4,000,000,000, an average to each depositor of $445.22. 

Postal Savings Banks. — A bill approved June 10, 1910, 
provided for postal depositories for savings at interest with 
the security of the government for repayment thereof. 
Accounts may be opened by any one over ten years of age. 
Deposits are to start with not less than one dollar, and one 



150 THE NATION 

dollar deposits or multiples thereof may be subsequently 
made, but not more than $100 may be deposited in any one 
month, the balance shall not exceed over $500 for any one 
person, and interest at two per cent shall be allowed. The 
government removes the money to state or national banks, 
lending it to them at not less than two and one fourth per 
cent. Early in 191 1 the postal savings banks were inaugu- 
rated, only one in each state to start with, but this number 
has been rapidly extended until the whole country is now 
organized. These banks are proving very popular and had 
deposits of nearly $28,000,000 at the close of the year 191 2. 

National Monetary Commission. — In 1908 there was 
created a National Monetary Commission composed of 
eighteen members, nine senators and nine congressmen, 
who were to investigate the monetary system of the United 
States and report desirable changes in it and in the laws 
relating to banking and currency. This commission, with 
ex-senator Aldrich, of Rhode Island, at its head, went 
thoroughly into the matter and made a report to Congress 
advocating a great central reserve bank. The country did 
not take kindly to the idea of a great central reserve bank, 
but the commission's report aroused much interest and 
had good educational effects. 

The Federal Reserve Act. — All classes of business men 
agreed that our currency laws should be revised. The 
finances of the country have been unsteady. In parts of 
the country, especially in the West and South at the time 
of great crop sales, the demands for money caused a financial 
stringency, and frequently bank failures. Inability to con- 
vert bankable notes and securities into cash, and poor 
facilities for expanding and contracting the currency, have 
frequently ruined strong financial institutions and precipi- 



FEDERAL CONTROL OF MONEY AND BANKS 151 

tated panics. To remedy these defects, a law was passed 
December 23, 1913, known as the Federal Reserve Act. The 
act is long and complex, so only a few of the essentials will 
be noted. . 

The law provides for the creation of not less than eight 
nor more than twelve federal reserve banks, each acting as a 
central bank for one of the corresponding federal reserve 
districts into which the country is divided. In 19 14, ac- 
cordingly, twelve such banks were established, one for each 
district, numbered from one to twelve, respectively ; they 
were located at Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, 
Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kan- 
sas City, Dallas, and San Francisco. The control of the 
entire system is under a federal reserve board of seven mem- 
bers, consisting of the secretary of the treasury, the comp- 
troller of the currency, and five other members appointed 
by the President. Of the five appointees the regular term 
is ten years each. At least two of them must be experienced 
bankers ; not more than one may come from any federal 
reserve district ; and they receive an annual salary of 
$12,000 and^ traveling expenses. Of the five board mem- 
bers appointed, one is designated by the President as 
governor, and one as vice governor of the federal reserve 
board. 

Each federal reserve bank may have branch banks within 
the federal reserve district in which it is situated, and must 
have a subscribed capital stock of at least $4,000,000, 
which amount is open to subscriptions first of national banks 
" in a sum equal to six per cent of the paid-up capital stock 
and surplus of such banks." The government authorizes a 
reserve bank to issue notes against bankable securities and 
collateral approved by its board of directors, which notes 



152 THE NATION 

are redeemable at the treasury department in gold, and at 
each regional reserve bank in gold or lawful money. The 
quantity of the new notes is wholly within the control of 
the federal reserve board. A reserve in gold of forty per 
cent must be maintained by the bank against outstanding 
reserve notes. These reserve notes are a prior lien on the 
entire assets of the regional reserve bank issuing them, 
hence are perfectly safe. Every regional reserve bank has 
nine directors, three of whom are chosen by the federal 
reserve board, one of the three acting as chairman, and 
six are chosen by member banks. The chairman of the 
regional reserve board of directors is the medium of 
communication between the regional bank and the federal 
reserve board. 

National banks, qualified state banks, and qualified 
trust companies may become " member banks," by sub- 
scribing to the capital of the federal reserve bank of their 
district. National banks are forced to subscribe, and 
qualified state banks and trust companies are invited to do 
so. The member banks are entitled to receive an annual 
dividend of six per cent on the paid-in capital, stock which 
they have taken for membership in the regional reserve bank. 
The national bank notes now in existence will not be re- 
duced in volume for at least two years ; after that time 
and during a period of twenty years thereafter, a member 
bank may offer for sale any or all of its United States bonds, 
on redeeming its circulating bank notes. The withdrawal 
of the present national bank notes will give place for the 
new federal reserve notes above mentioned. The amount 
of federal reserve notes will be expanded, or contracted, by 
redemption, as business conditions warrant, according to 
the judgment of the federal reserve board. National 



FEDERAL CONTROL OF MONEY AND BANKS 1 53 

banks may conduct savings departments, the funds of 
which cannot be withdrawn unless thirty days' notice 
has been given. The banks, however, may waive the 
time notice as each case occurs. The member banks may 
buy approved commercial securities, and, when necessary, 
these securities will be taken up by the regional reserve 
banks and the member be paid lawful money. This will 
relieve the member bank from financial embarrassment 
at times when money is in great demand, and will put money 
where most needed. 

For the. first time in American financial legislation, farm- 
ing is recognized as a business. Member banks are al- 
lowed to purchase farm securities and discount paper for 
six months which has been issued for agricultural purposes 
or based on live stock ; also, member banks outside the 
reserve cities are allowed to buy five-year first mortgages 
on unencumbered and improved farm land to fifty per cent 
of its market value. 

On July 31, 1 9 14, there were seventy-five hundred forty- 
eight national banks doing business in the United States 
whose authorized capital was $1,073,734,175, with an out- 
standing circulation of over $750,000,000 bank notes. All 
but very few national banks have accepted membership in 
the new federal reserve plan, which guarantees an enormous 
capital with which to initiate it. Except for the general 
observations made, the national banks will go on under 
very much the same general regulations as before. It 
will take time to work out the details of the federal reserve 
system. The possibilities cannot be seen, but the best 
public opinion seems to be that the plan is sound, and 
under wise direction will do much to insure financial 
stability. 



*54 



THE NATION 



LIBRARY REFERENCES 



American Year Book 191 o, 1912. 

Andrews : New Manual of the Constitution, 104-120. 

Davenport: Outlines of Economic Theory, 224-256. 

Dewey : Financial History of the United States, chs. Ill, IV, 
IX, X. 

Ely : Outlines of Economics, rev. ed., chs. XIV, XV. 

Fish : The Development of American Nationality, ch. XXVI. 

Forman : Advanced Civics, chs. XL, XLI, XLII. 

Garner : Government of the United States, ch. XII. 

Hinsdale: American Government (4th ed.), 198-211. 

James and Sanford : Government in State and Nation, ch. XIX. 

Johnston and Woodburn : American Political History, I, ch. VII ; 
II, ch. XVIII. 

Kaye : Readings in Civil Government, chs. XIX, XX. 

Noyes: Forty Years of American Finance (1865-1907). (See 
index.) 

Sprague: The Federal Reserve Act of 19 13, Quarterly Journal of 
Economics, February, 1914. 

White: Money and Banking, 3-38 ; 148-224; 406-436. 

Source Mate ial and Supplementary Aids. — The Congressional 
Record. Annual report of the secretary of the treasury. Report 
of the comptroller of the currency. The federal reserve act. 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1 . Discuss briefly the money situation prior to the adoption of the 
Constitution. 

2. How does Congress borrow money? 

3. Where are the mints located? How has the value been regu- 
lated? 

4. What is Gresham's law ? How does it affect money ? 

5. What is meant by " free coinage "? Define the Bland-Allison 
act. 

6. What is meant by -the gold standard? Subsidiary coinage? 
Bimetallism ? 

7. Give the present status of the relation between gold and silver. 



FEDERAL CONTROL OF MONEY AND BANKS 1 55 

8. Define currency. What gives paper money its value ? What 
kinds of paper money are in use now ? 

9. Where do state banks get their authority? What functions 
have they? 

10. Define a national bank. How organized? Capital and 
directors? How controlled? 

11. Define a savings bank. Postal savings bank. Good of, to a 
community ? 

12. Wherein is our currency system faulty to-day? How may it 
be remedied ? 

QUESTION FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That the Aldrich currency reform plan, or some other 
one-central-bank system, should be adopted. 



CHAPTER XI 

NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE PROHIBITIONS AND STATE 
LIMITATIONS 

Legislative Prohibitions and State Limitations. — The 

government of the United States is one of checks and bal- 
ances between the nation and the states. It was most 
earnestly desired that the federal government should be 
strengthened sufficiently to protect life and property, and 
promote the general welfare ; but it was also desired that 
it should in no wise endanger the autonomy of the states. 
The definition of " implied powers " is largely a matter of 
judgment on the part of Congress and the courts ; but 
some of these powers were deemed sufficiently menacing 
to the states to be definitely prohibited. 

Article I, Section 9, Clause 1. — The migration or importation of 
such persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to 
admit shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one 
thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed 
on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person. 

The Slave Trade. — That the general feeling was averse 
to the slave traffic is shown by the fact that it was pro- 
hibited by a congressional law which took effect January i, 
1808, the earliest date allowed by the Constitution for its 
prohibition. It is estimated that between the adoption 
of the Constitution and the year 1808, over three hundred 
thousand slaves were imported into this country. The 
federal government had a right to impose a tax of ten dol- 

156 



NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE PROHIBITIONS 1 57 

lars for each slave imported, but it never exercised this 
power. This clause is now obsolete, and is of historical 
interest only. 

Slavery Prohibited. — The Thirteenth Amendment to 
the Constitution of the United States, which abolished 
slavery in every part of the United States and all the terri- 
tory under its jurisdiction, was ratified December 18, 1865. 
By this and later amendments, the negro was given the 
same constitutional rights enjoyed by the white man. 

Sec. 9, Clause 2. — The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus 
shall not be suspended unless, when in cases of rebellion or invasion, 
ic safety may require it. 



Writ of Habeas Corpus. — A writ is an instrument in 
writing, issued by authority of law, commanding the per- 
son to whom it is directed to do a certain act. Habeas 
corpus means " you may have the body " ; and the writ 
(once in Latin, now in English) commands the officer to 
whom it is addressed to bring into court the person whose 
detention is to be inquired into. The writ of habeas 
corpus is regarded as the greatest known safeguard against 
unlawful imprisonment. If a person is imprisoned, he, or 
his friends, may make application before a competent 
judge for a writ authorizing the prisoner to be brought 
before the judge for an investigation of the legality of the 
imprisonment. The person or persons detaining him will 
be given an opportunity to show reasons why the person 
should not be discharged. If, after the evidence is heard, 
the judge is of the opinion that the accused is not lawfully 
detained, he will discharge and release him. But the guilt 
or innocence of the accused, the truth or falsity of the 
charges against him, are not inquired into. 



158 THE NATION 

This clause of the Constitution provides that the priv- 
ilege of the writ of habeas corpus cannot be suspended 
except when " in cases of rebellion or invasion the public 
safety may require it." The question of in whose power 
lies the right to suspend the writ of habeas corpus, has 
caused a great deal of discussion. Occasion for the ques- 
tion to cause much controversy never arose until April 27, 
1861, when Lincoln suspended the writ over a limited area. 
This was a dangerous proceeding; but public safety de- 
manded it and Lincoln repeated his action several times 
later. In March, 1863, the President was authorized by 
Congress to suspend the writ during the rebellion when- 
ever he believed the public welfare would be aided thereby, 
and in September, 1863, he extended the suspension over 
the whole country. This act worked a great hardship on 
many innocent people who were in prison accused of mili- 
tary offenses and who under the circumstances could get 
no hearing. In the hands of an unscrupulous and injudi- 
cious President, the right to suspend the writ of habeas 
corpus would be a power that would endanger the republic 
itself. Since the war, the Supreme Court has decided that 
the final suspension of this writ belongs only to the courts. 

Sec. 9, Clause 3. — No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall 
be passed. 

A Bill of Attainder. — The following extract from a de- 
cision of Mr. Justice Field, of the Supreme Court, gives 
us an excellent definition of this bill : — - 

" A bill of attainder is a legislative act which inflicts punish- 
ment without a judicial trial. If the punishment be less than 
death, the act is termed a bill of pains and penalties. Within 
the meaning of the Constitution, bills of attainder include bills of 



NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE PROHIBITIONS 1 59 

pains and penalties. In these cases the legislative body, in 
addition to its legitimate functions, exercises the powers and 
office of judge ; it assumes, in the language of the text-books, 
judicial magistracy; it pronounces upon the guilt of the party, 
without any of the forms of safeguards of trial; it determines 
the sufficiency of the proofs produced, whether conformable to 
the rules of evidence or otherwise ; and it fixes the degree of 
punishment in accordance with its own notions of the enormity 
of the offense. . . . These bills are generally directed against 
individuals by name ; but they may be directed against a whole 
class." 

The Long Parliament which met in England, 1641, con- 
demned Strafford and Archbishop Laud to death illegally 
by attainder. The framers of the Constitution felt that so 
dangerous a power should not be granted to Congress, and 
also prohibited the same thing to the states in Section 10, 
Clause 1 of the Constitution. 

Ex Post Facto Laws. — An ex post facto law declares 
an act to be a crime when it was not such at the time it 
was committed ; or it enlarges or makes the punishment 
for it more severe than it was when the crime was com- 
mitted ; or even changes the rules of evidence so as to make 
it easier to convict the accused. Ex post facto laws relate 
exclusively to crimes, and are void because unconstitu- 
tional. 

Sec. 9, Clause 4. — No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, 
unless in proportion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore 
directed to be taken. 

Capitation and Direct Taxes. — A capitation tax is a 
tax on the head, i.e., on the individual. This clause was 
especially made a part of the Constitution to guard against 



l6o THE NATION 

the levying of a special, or poll, tax on the two fifths of 
the slaves not enumerated for representation as mentioned 
in Article i, Section 2 of the Constitution. The national 
government has never levied a capitation tax but has levied 
direct taxes a few times. 

Sec. 9, Clause 5. — No tax or duty shall be laid on articles 
exported from any State. 

This clause was inserted as part of a compromise under 
which Congress was given power to regulate commerce. 
Certain states were opposed to giving Congress unlimited 
power over commerce, and they secured the adoption of 
this restriction, which prevents any tax on exports. 

Sec. 9, Clause 6. — No preference shall be given by any regu- 
lation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one State over those of 
another; nor shall vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged 
to enter, clear, or pay duties in another. 

Entering and Clearing. — Before a ship can "enter " 
a port, one of her officers must report the arrival of the 
ship and the nature of the cargo to the customs authorities 
and get permission to " enter." To " clear " is to obtain 
from the same authorities the necessary papers permitting 
the sailing from the port. All ships arriving from foreign 
ports are required to " enter," and all that sail for foreign 
ports must " clear " before entering and leaving port. 

Sec. 9, Clause 7. — No money shall be drawn from the treasury 
but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular 
statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public 
money shall be published from time to time. 

Congress and the Treasury. — This clause places a limita- 
tion on the executive department. Those who have charge 



NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE PROHIBITIONS l6l 

of the public treasury are appointed by the President, and 
without this constitutional limitation he would have an 
opportunity to use the public funds to foster his own private 
interests. This condition might lead to an overthrow of 
our liberty and to a national crisis. As it is, not a dollar 
can be appropriated out of the treasury, except by Congress. 
The governmental expenses are appropriated annually. 

Annual Report. — A complete report of all receipts and 
expenditures is made to Congress annually. This require- 
ment insures a proper use of the public funds and great 
accuracy in keeping the accounts of the government. Any 
citizen has a right to examine the annual report issued by the 
treasury department or any other department of the govern- 
ment. The fiscal year of the government ends June 30. 

There is a strong demand now for the United States to 
adopt a budget system as has been adopted in other coun- 
tries. This would compel each cabinet official to make a 
complete estimate of expenses and expenditures each year 
in the reports to the President, and thus put system 
into governmental financiering. The budget, as a whole, 
would be submitted by the treasury department. At pres- 
ent, seven different House committees, each independent 
of the rest, and all of whom may ignore the Ways and 
Means Committee, prepare the appropriation bills. 

Sec. 9, Clause 8. — No title of nobility shall be granted by the 
United States ; a)id no person holding any office of profit or trust 
under them, shall, without the consent of Congress, accept of any 
present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any 
\, prince, or foreign State. 



Titles of Nobility. — The action of the government 
would not be consistent with the theory of equality upon 



1 62 THE NATION 

which our republic is based should it grant any of its sub- 
jects a title of nobility. Our government was established 
for all the people and not to encourage class distinctions 
and social castes, by granting titles of nobility. 

Presents. — If federal officers could receive gifts of value 
of any kind from a foreign king, prince, or state, they might 
be influenced to sacrifice the interest of the nation ; hence 
the accepting of such gifts is forbidden by the Constitution. 
However, in case a foreign power should desire to compli- 
ment an official of this country with a gift, Congress may 
authorize the officer to accept it. 

Sec. 10, Clause i. — No State shall enter into any treaty, 
alliance, or confederation ; grant letters of marque and reprisal; 
coin money ; emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver 
coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex 
post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant 
any title of nobility. 

Sec. 10, Clause 3. — No State shall, without the consent of 
Congress, lay any duty on tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in 
time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another 
State or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually 
invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay. 

Treaties and Confederations. — It would not be con- 
sistent with the idea of national sovereignty if a state 
could enter into treaties, alliances, confederations, -and 
grant letters of marque and reprisal. An arrangement of 
this kind would lead to international entanglements and 
to the destruction of our Union. It was intended to take 
away from the states, and to vest exclusively in Congress, 
matters affecting our relations with foreign powers or the 
relations between states. 



NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE PROHIBITIONS 1 63 

Money and Bills of Credit. — Bills of credit are, accord- 
ing to the Supreme Court, paper issued by the sovereign 
power, containing a pledge of its faith and designed to 
circulate as money. If each state had the right to coin 
money, we should have as many kinds of money as we have 
states, and this would lead to a multiplicity of commercial 
dissensions, inconveniences, and even to national danger. 
The power to coin money is a privilege that must belong 
only to the highest sovereign authority. 

Legal Tender. — Without the constitutional prohibition, 
the states might perhaps make state bank notes legal 
tender, but under the Constitution no state can " make 
anything but gold and silver a tender in payment of debts." 
This gives us national uniformity. This subject is dis- 
cussed more fully in the chapter on Money and Banks. 

Bills of Attainder and Ex Post Facto Laws. — The states 
are prohibited from passing bills of attainder or ex post 
facto laws, for the same reason that the central government 
is denied these powers. It is a prohibition in the interest 
of justice. 

Contracts. — A valid contract must be made in good 
faith and have in it the elements of a moral transaction. 
The Constitution is itself a moral law, and implies a faithful 
discharge of all moral contracts whether made by nation or 
state. The Constitution wisely prohibits any state from 
declaring invalid a valid or legal contract. This clause has 
prevented much confusion in property rights, which would 
obtain through change of laws. A state may pass laws 
operating upon future contracts between its own citizens. 

Title of Nobility. — The same principle that restrains 
the nation from granting titles of nobility obtains against 
the state. 



164 THE NATION 

Duties. — The system of regulating commerce and of 
laying duties or imposts on imports and exports is largely 
in the hands of Congress. We rind, however, in Clause 
2, one exception — a state is given the privilege to lay 
duties to an amount " absolutely necessary for executing 
its inspection laws." If the amount levied should be more 
than the amount needed for this purpose, the balance would 
go to the treasury of the United States. The state inspec- 
tion laws are also subject to the revision and correction of 
Congress. This prohibition on the states makes it impos- 
sible for a state to use this power selfishly under cover of 
inspection laws. 

Inspection Laws. — Inspection laws are the laws and 
regulations governing the inspection, or examination, of 
commodities offered for sale. The subject of these laws 
is to detect fraudulent practices, improve the quality of 
commodities, and to indicate the quality of each by marking 
it. Such work is now done mostly by the federal govern- 
ment. There are, however, many city and state regula- 
tions also for the inspection of milk, perishable foods, and 
other products. 

Tonnage. — Tonnage refers to duties on ships. When 
duties are laid upon ships, the amount is determined by 
the registered tonnage of the ship, which may not indicate 
its actual size. States are prohibited from laying duties 
on ships, as this is a means of regulating commerce, which 
power belongs only to the national government. A state 
has the right to tax, according to their value, ships belonging 
to citizens, or other persons residing within their borders, 
in the same manner as other property. 

Other Federal Rights. — States are not allowed, without 
the consent of Congress, to keep troops or ships of war 



NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE PROHIBITIONS 165 

in time of peace ; to enter into an agreement with another 
state or foreign nation, or to engage in war when not in im- 
minent danger. All these powers, by their very nature, 
belong to the federal government, which acts at once when 
a state is in danger. Without these prohibitions, one or 
more states could weaken the Union, destroy domestic 
tranquillity, work for the common defense of one or more 
states, ignore the general welfare of the Union, and deprive 
citizens of the blessings of liberty that naturally belong to 
all under a republican form of government. The term 
" troops " means a regular standing army, and not the 
militia. 

Amendment XIV, Section 1, Clause 2. — No State shall make 
or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges of citizens of the 
United States ; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty 
or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person 
within its jurisdiction the. equal protection of the laws. 

This relates to conditions obtaining through the recon- 
struction period at the South in the years following the 
Civil War, and is introduced in this connection since it is 
germane to the other limitations on the states. It will be 
noted again when considering the amendments to the Con- 
stitution. A very interesting case came before the United 
States District Court at Nashville, in 1910, at which time 
a Law and Order League secured an injunction against 
violators of Tennessee's liquor laws in Memphis, when the 
law of the state was being enforced in the greater part of the 
state but not in Memphis. The League pleaded for " the 
equal protection of the law," as in the Fourteenth Amend- 
ment, but the federal court denied that it had jurisdiction, 
and dismissed the case. 



1 66 THE NATION 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

Andrews : New Manual of the Constitution, 1 51-166. 

Guitteau : Government and Politics, ch. XXL 

Hart : Actual Government ch. III. 

Hinsdale: American Government (4th ed.), 236-247. 

James and Sanford : Government in State and Nation, 243-247. 

Woodburn: The American Republic, ch. II. 

Source Material and Supplementary Aids. — The Constitution. 
A few state constitutions. Poore's Charters and Constitutions (a 
government document). 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. Why did slavery cause a dispute in the constitutional conven- 
tion ? How was it settled ? 

2. What is meant by the writ of habeas corpus? Importance 
of ? How has it caused trouble ? Who only may suspend it ? 

3. What is the importance of bills of attainder and ex post facto 
laws? 

4. How only may direct taxes and capitation taxes be levied? 
Why? 

5. Why cannot a state levy taxes on imports and exports? Was 
not this prohibition a limit on sovereignty ? How ? 

6. What is the relation between Congress and the treasury 
department ? 

7. Why forbid titles in the United States? 

8. Section 10, Clauses 1, 2, and 3 relate to the most important 
prohibitions on the states. Why forbid the states to make treaties 
and confederations ? To emit bills of credit ? To make other money 
than gold and silver legal tender? To impair a contract? To keep 
troops or ships in time of peace? Does this forbid state militia? 
To engage in war or make a compact with a foreign power ? 

QUESTION FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That the United States should require the President to 
submit an annual budget, showing the probable income from all 
sources, and an estimate of the various expenditures. 



CHAPTER XII 
THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 

Article II, Sec. i, Clause i. — The executive power shall be 
vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall 
hold his office during the term of four years, and, together with the 
Vice President, chosen for the same term, be elected, as follows : 

Sec. i, Clause 2. — Each State shall appoint, in such manner as 
the Legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the 
whole number of senators and representatives to which the State 
may be entitled in Congress. But no senator or representative, 
or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, 
shall be appointed an elector. 

The Chief Executive. — The government under the Ar- 
ticles of Confederation had no chief executive to enforce 
the laws and lead in the shaping of a national policy. The 
constitutional convention had but little trouble in deciding 
to provide for a strong executive department, but had 
great difficulty in deciding whether the executive should 
be single or plural, and greater difficulty still in arranging 
the matter of his election. Some of the greatest statesmen 
in the convention wanted two or more executives. One 
President looked too much like a king, and this did not 
suit them, as they had just liberated themselves from 
despotic rule. The convention, however, finally and wisely 
declared that the executive power should be vested in a 
President of the United States of America. Time has 
proved the wisdom of this conclusion. All believe at the 

167 



1 68 THE NATION 

present time, that the executive power should be vested 
in one man. The method of electing a President took up 
a great deal of time ; and at first it was settled that he 
should be elected by Congress for a term of seven years 
and should not be eligible for reelection. It was near 
the close of the convention, that a committee of one mem- 
ber from each state proposed a change in the length of the 
term of office to four years with reeligibility, and also 
the method of choosing the President by means of electors. 

Term of Office. — Some of the able men of the convention 
were of the opinion that the President should serve during 
good behavior. Hamilton proposed that he be chosen for 
life. Cutting the length of the term to four years has been 
of doubtful good. Election years prove bad in a business 
way. Again, a President may plan during almost his whole 
first term for reelection, thus minimizing his efficiency as 
a chief executive. It has these good points, however, in 
coming frequently : it gives the voters a chance to find out 
what the leading issues are, and the campaign educates in 
politics and government ; also, it is more democratic, and 
allows an unsatisfactory administration to be changed. 

Presidential Electors. — The original idea of using elec- 
tors, instead of leaving the election to the popular vote, 
was to prevent a bad choice due to too much campaign 
excitement or lack of information about the candidates. 
" The Federalist," Number 68, says : "A small number of 
persons, selected by their fellow-citizens from the general 
mass for this special object, would be most likely to possess 
the information and discernment and independence requi- 
site to so complicated an investigation." 

The number of electors chosen by each state is the same 
as the number of its senators and representatives in Con- 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 169 

gress. Congress fixes by law, under each census, the num- 
ber of national representatives. The President elected 
in November, 191 2, was chosen by an electoral college 
composed of 531 members, which is equal to the total 
number of representatives and senators under the census of 
1 9 10. It takes a majority of the members of the electoral 
college to elect a President. The electoral college for 1916 
and 1920 numbers likewise 531 members. 

Manner of Choosing Electors. — The manner of choosing 
electors is now uniform in all the states ; that is, by the popu- 
lar vote of the whole state. Each political party nominates 
the full number of electors and then makes every effort 
to carry the vote of the state for its party. Up to 1832, 
electors were chosen by the state legislatures in some states ; 
in others, each congressional district voted for its own candi- 
date, and the people of the state voted for two electors at 
large. Since 1872, the practice of every state has been to 
vote for all its electors on a general ticket. There is no 
qualification for an elector, except that at the time he shall 
not be holding an office of profit or trust under the United 
States. Congress, as early as 1845, allowed states to pro- 
vide a law to fill a vacancy in the electoral college between 
the date of election and the time the electors cast their 
vote. 

The Original Clause. — The original Clause 3 of this part 
of the constitution reads as follows : — 

Sec. 1, Clause 3. — The electors shall meet in their respective 
States, and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least 
shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves. 
And they shall make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the 
number of votes for each ; which list they shall sign and certify 
and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United 



170 THE NATION 

States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President 
of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of 
Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall 
then be counted. The person having the greatest number of 
votes shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the 
whole number of electors appointed : and if there be more than 
one who have such majority and have an equal number of votes, 
then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose by 
ballot one of them for President ; and if no person have a major- 
ity, then from the five highest on the list, the said House shall in 
like manner choose the President. But in choosing the Presi- 
dent, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from 
each State having one vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall 
consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the States, 
and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. 
In every case, after the choice of the President, the person hav- 
ing the greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice 
President. But if there should remain two or more who have 
equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice 
President. 

This clause was abrogated by the Twelfth Amendment, 
which became a part of the Constitution, September 25, 
1804. It is now only of historical interest. The elec- 
tion of 1796 resulted in the choice of a President of one 
party and a Vice President of another ; in 1800 two men 
received a majority vote of the electors, but there was a 
tie, each receiving seventy-three electoral votes, and the 
election was carried to the House of Representatives. 
Wild excitement prevailed, and only on the thirty-sixth 
ballot in the House, was Jefferson elected. The results of 
these two elections brought about the Twelfth Amendment. 

Amendment XII, Article 12. — The electors shall meet in their 
respective States, and vote by ballot for President and Vice President, 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 171 

one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same State 
with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted 
for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice 
President; and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted 
for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice President 
and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and 
certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the 
United States, directed to the president of the Senate ; the president 
of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of 
Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be 
counted; the person having the greatest number of votes for President 
shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole 
number of electors appointed ; and if no person have such majority, 
then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding 
three, on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Repre- 
sentatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But 
in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the repre- 
sentation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose 
shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the States, 
and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. 
And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President 
whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth 
day of March next following, then the Vice President shall act as 
President, as in the case of death or other constitutional disability 
of the President. The persons having the greatest number of votes 
as Vice President shall be the Vice President if such number be a 
majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no 
person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on 
the list, the Se?iate shall choose the Vice President; a quorum 
for the purpose shall consist of two thirds of the whole number 
of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary 
to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office 
of President shall be eligible to that of Vice President of the United 
States. 



172 THE NATION 

The chief differences between the original plan of electing 
the executive and the one now used under the Twelfth 
Amendment are in the requirement of each elector to cast 
separate ballots for President and Vice President, and, in 
case the election goes to the House of Representatives, in 
the number of men to be voted for. It should be noted 
that the Constitution does not prohibit the election of both 
President and Vice President from the same state, but if 
this should ever occur, that state could vote for only one 
of them in the electoral college. Presidents were chosen 
by the House of Representatives in 1800 and in 1824. 
Only once has the Senate chosen the Vice President : 
Richard M. Johnson, who in 1836 failed by one of having 
a majority vote out of 294 electoral votes, but the Senate 
chose him. In case of no election of President by the 
electoral college, or by the House of Representatives, then 
the Vice President elect, even if chosen by the Senate, 
would become President. 

Sec. 1, Clause 4. — The Congress may determine the time of 
choosing the electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes ; 
which day shall be the same throughout the United States. 

Date of the Election. — We speak of a presidential elec- 
tion as taking place on the first Tuesday after the first Mon- 
day in November every four years. Strictly speaking, no 
vote is given for President and Vice President on that 
date. We vote for electors, and not for President and 
Vice President. It is true, however, that in voting for the 
electors nominated by the political organization with which 
we affiliate we have in mind, at the time of casting our 
ballots, the election of the candidate nominated by our 
organization. The electors chosen are pledged to vote 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 1 73 

for the party's candidate. No elector has ever been known 
to violate his pledge, but the electors have the power to 
do so. The electors are chosen by the direct popular vote 
of each state. On the second Monday of January all the 
state electoral colleges must meet, generally at the state 
capitol, and cast their votes. They make out three lists 
of votes, certify to them, sign, and seal. One list is carried 
by special messenger to the President of the Senate at 
Washington ; another is sent to him by mail, and the third 
list is deposited with the United States District Judge of 
the district in which the electors meet. The presidential 
electors receive no salary for their work, and their official 
duty ends with the casting of their vote. 

Counting the Electoral Vote. — The two branches of 
Congress meet in the House of Representatives the second 
Wednesday in February following the vote for electors, 
and the sealed vote of the electors from each state is broken 
by the president of the Senate and handed to the tellers 
appointed to count the vote. Candidates receiving the 
required number of votes are declared to be elected Presi- 
dent and Vice President of the United States. Really, 
there is no election of a President until this time. Never- 
theless, we know who will be elected very soon after the 
election has been held in the different states. 

Joint electoral high commission. — In 1876 the Demo- 
cratic and Republican parties both claimed the election 
of their respective electors in Florida, Louisiana, Oregon, 
and South Carolina, and, as a result, double election re- 
turns were sent in by these states. The election of the 
President and Vice President depended upon the vote of 
these states. Consequently, great excitement prevailed, 
and the contest over the disputed returns was intense. 



174 THE NATION 

Double returns had been sent in at previous elections, but 
this was the first time in the history of the country when 
the election of the President depended upon them. An elec- 
toral commission was appointed by Congress in January, 
1877, consisting of five United States senators, five members 
of the House of Representatives, and five associate judges 
of the Supreme Court, to whom were referred the double 
election returns for their decision as to which returns were 
to be accepted. The vote of the commission stood, in 
every case, seven for Tilden and eight for Hayes, and, as 
a result, Rutherford B. Hayes, the Republican candidate, 
was elected President of the United States. The disputed 
returns were decided by a party vote, there being eight Re- 
publicans and seven Democrats on the commission. 

The Act of 1887. — The bitter controversy over the 
disputed election of 1876 led to a statute in 1887, regulating 
the counting of votes for President and Vice President. It 
declared the action of the state under its own laws was the 
final arbiter in any dispute. In case a state sends in double 
returns, the statute defines the action of Congress by 
requiring each House to sit separately in deciding the 
dispute, and if the two Houses fail to agree, the state's 
vote is lost. 

Minority Presidents. — The electoral college has not 
worked as was planned by the framers of the Constitution. 
They tried to avert political strife by taking the election 
of the executive from the political arena, but this has proved 
to be impossible. The present plan, in its working, is 
more democratic than the one devised by our forefathers ; 
yet it has defects as regards our idea in having the majority 
rule. We have had ten so-called minority Presidents, who 
received a majority of the electoral vote, but a minority 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 1 75 

of the popular vote. This has usually been due to the 
number of tickets in the field, as in the case of Abraham 
Lincoln whose popular vote in i860 fell far short of the 
combined vote of his opponents, though he received a 
majority of the electoral vote. Again, in many of our elec- 
tions, the contest narrows down to a few pivotal states, 
like New York and Indiana. It may occur that a certain 
group of states, with a given electoral vote, may be carried 
for a candidate by a very small majority ; one state, not 
having nearly so many electoral votes as this group, may 
give twice or thrice the popular majority that the group 
gave. Hence it may be seen that an electoral majority 
may be based upon a popular minority. A good example 
of this was in 1888, when Cleveland received 95,534 popu- 
lar majority, but received only 168 electoral votes to Harri- 
son's 233. Woodrow Wilson received an enormous ma- 
jority in the electoral college in 191 2, but failed to get a 
majority of the popular vote. 

President Making. — From 1788 until 1800, men were 
named for President and Vice President with little arti- 
ficial aid and stimulus, and without any delegates or con- 
ventions. In 1804 came the first congressional nominating 
caucus, which named Jefferson and Clinton for President 
and Vice President. The congressional caucus, made up 
of the members of the party in Congress, was in vogue until 
1824, when, owing to cliques and questionable methods, it 
fell into disrepute ; then state legislatures and county 
assemblies took a hand in placing their favorite candidates 
before the public. From 1824 to 1836 was a transition 
period, in which the congressional caucus passes away 
and state legislatures took over most of the work. In 
183 1 the Antimasonic party held the first national nominat- 



176 THE NATION 

ing convention. Since 1836, all parties have held national 
conventions to nominate candidates. 

The national convention is composed usually of twice 
as many delegates from all the states as those states have 
representatives and senators in Congress. 1 Alternates 
are provided for in case the delegate cannot attend. These 
delegates and alternates are chosen either by a state con- 
vention, by congressional district conventions and a state 
convention (the latter choosing four delegates at large 
— two for each United States senator), or in some states 
now by a direct primary. Territories and insular posses- 
sions may have delegates if the party is willing. The 
national convention meets generally in June or July; 
organizes ; appoints committees, the most important of 
which is the committee on a platform of principles ; listens 
to oratorical efforts of leaders ; and after the platform 
has been read, nominates candidates for President and Vice 
President. A majority vote nominates in a Republican 
convention, but a two- thirds majority is required by a 
Democratic convention. The work of the convention ends 
with the selection of the candidates, except that the dele- 
gates from each state choose a national committeeman. 
The national committee of the party is thus made up of 
one member from each state. They elect a chairman, 
generally from among their own membership, but 
sometimes he is selected by the candidate for President 
from without the national committee. This committee 
organizes the campaign, raises the money, selects speakers, 
and sends out literature. Our system of electing Presi- 

1 The rules of the Progressive party and (since 1913) of the Republican 
party call for a somewhat smaller number, based partly on the number of 
party voters in each state. 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 1 77 

dents may not be the best, but being almost all volun- 
tary work, and based on custom and not law, it is mar- 
velous in its achievements. The campaign of 191 2 was 
economically conducted, the committees of the leading 
parties were careful from whom they took contributions, 
and the names of the donors with the sum given was 
published before the election. This subject is more fully 
discussed in Chapter XXVI. 

Sec. 1, Clause 5. — No person except a natural-born citizen, or 
a citizen of the United States at the time of the adoption of this 
Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall 
any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the 
age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within 
the United States. 

Qualifications of the President. — The President must 
be a natural-born citizen who is at least thirty-five years 
old and who has been for fourteen years a resident within 
the United States. A natural-born citizen of this country is 
one who was born within the allegiance of the United States 
government. Some very prominent American citizens in 
1787 were men of foreign birth, e.g., Alexander Hamilton, 
and a provision was made for their eligibility. Only 
natural-born citizens are now eligible. Residence abroad 
on official business for a period of time does not disqualify. 

Sec. 1, Clause 6. — In case of the removal of the President from 
office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the 
powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the 
Vice President; and the Congress may by law provide for the case 
of removal, death, resignation or inability both of the President and 
Vice President, declaring what officer shall then act as President, 
and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, 
or a President shall be elected. 



178 THE NATION 

Presidential Vacancy. — In case of death, removal, res- 
ignation, or inability of the President to discharge the 
duties of the office of the President of the United States, 
the Vice President becomes President. In case of the death, 
removal, or inability of the Vice President, the Constitution 
provides that Congress may by law provide for filling 
the vacant office. Congress in 1792 provided that in 
case of the death or removal of both President and Vice 
President, the president pro tempore of the Senate should 
become President, and if there were none, then the speaker 
of the House. What inability to perform the duties of 
President may mean, has never been settled. No action 
was taken to settle it during the lingering illness of Garfield 
or McKinley. If under the act of 1792, President John- 
son had been convicted in 1868, Senator Ben Wade, who 
exercised his right to vote in the case, and voted for the 
conviction of Mr. Johnson, would have become President. 
Under this same system, a death or removal might occur 
when there was neither president of the Senate nor speaker 
of the House ; also, these might be of opposite political 
faith to the President and Vice President who had been 
elected, and thus cause sudden change in the policy of the 
administration. This was all remedied by statute. 

The Law of Succession. — Congress, acting under its 
constitutional authority in Clause 6, passed a new presi- 
dential succession law in January, 1886. This provides 
that in case of removal, death, resignation, or inability 
of both the President and Vice President of the United 
States, the secretary of state shall be President. If there 
be no secretary of state, or in case of his removal, death, 
resignation, or inability, then the secretary of the treasury; 
and the next in order are, the secretary of war, the attorney 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT I 79 

general, the postmaster general, the secretary of the navy, 
and the secretary of the interior. The secretaries of agri- 
culture, commerce, and labor, have not had extended to 
them by Congress the provisions of the presidential suc- 
cession act. Secretaries must have the constitutional quali- 
fications for President or they would be passed. A secretary, 
becoming acting President thus, holds office only for the 
remainder of the four-year term, and must, upon taking 
office, convene Congress in extraordinary session after 
giving twenty days' notice. There is still no law to pro- 
vide for the succession, should both President and Vice 
President die after the electoral college has met and before 
their inauguration, on March 4. 

Sec. 1, Clause 7. — The President shall at stated times receive 
for his services a compensation which shall neither be increased nor 
diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected, 
and he shall not receive within that period any other emolument from 
the United States, or any of them. 

Salary of President and Vice President. — The salary 
of the President and Vice President cannot be increased 
or diminished during their term of office. In 1789 Congress 
fixed the salary of the President at $25,000; raised it to 
$50,000 in 1873 ; again raised it to $75,000 in 1909. 
The President is provided with a furnished residence — 
the White House — and allowances for fuel, lighting, clerks, 
horses, etc. The salary is small compared with those of 
even the lesser European monarchs. The Vice President, 
since 1907, receives a salary of $12,000. 

Sec. 1, Clause 8. — Before he enter on the execution of his office, 
he shall take the following oath or affirmation : 



180 THE NATION 

11 1 do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute 
the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of 
my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United 
States." 

The Inauguration of the President and Vice President. — 

The inauguration of the President and Vice President is 
in the hands of a committee whose duty it is to look after 
every detail connected with the inauguration. At noon, 
on the 4th of March, the President-elect, accompanied by 
the President of the United States, is escorted to a platform 
erected on the east side of the national Capitol, and the 
oath of office is administered, generally by the chief justice 
of the Supreme Court, in the presence of a multitude of 
people. The Bible is used in the administration of the 
oath, and the President kisses the open page of the book. 
The inauguration of the Vice President takes place in the 
Senate chamber just prior to the inauguration of the Presi- 
dent. Both make inaugural addresses after taking the 
oath. 

Sec. 2, Clause 1. — The President shall be commander-in-chief 
of the army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the 
several States when called into the actual service of the United States; 
he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in 
each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the 
duties of their respective offices ; and he shall have power to grant 
reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except 
in cases of impeachment. 

Military Power of the President. — There would be a 
lack of unity in action if the entire military power of the 
nation were not in tl^e hands of one person. The Presi- 
dent of the United States is, under the Constitution, com- 
mander in chief of the army, the navy, and the militia 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT l8l 

of the several states when called into actual service of the 
United States. This power naturally belongs to the Presi- 
dent, as it is his duty under our Constitution to execute 
the laws, repel invasions, and suppress insurrections, and 
it would not be right to require a national duty of him 
without giving him the national power to execute it. The 
President may take the field in person and conduct mili- 
tary operations should he so desire. However, this is not 
expected ; neither would it be best for the nation for him 
to do so. 

No other officer in the world has as much power as the 
President of the United States in time of war, when he uses 
what are called " war powers." Through these powers he 
governs territory taken in war until Congress acts concern- 
ing it. The Supreme Court in 1901 decided that some parts 
of the Constitution, such as the President's authority, apply 
at once in respect to conquered or otherwise recently ac- 
quired territory while others do not apply until Congress 
so decrees. 

Reprieves and Pardons. — The power to reprieve or 
pardon is given to the President in order to guard 
against any injustice of the law. False testimony may 
enter into a trial and lead to an unjust conviction. The 
nature of the testimony may afterward be discovered and 
a reprieve or pardon granted by the President in order to 
secure justice to the accused. A reprieve suspends the 
execution of a sentence for a given time. The President 
cannot exercise this power in case of impeachment. 

The Heads of Executive Departments. — The language 
of the Constitution evidently implies the power of Congress 
to organize executive departments, but nowhere in the 
Constitution is it specifically mentioned as a power belong- 



1 82 THE NATION 

ing to Congress. This section declares that the President 
" may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal 
officer in each of the executive departments upon any 
subjects relating to the duties of their respective offices." 
The heads of the departments are also referred to in the 
following clause, and, with these exceptions, no mention 
is made of the executive departments in the Constitution. 
The cabinet is composed of the heads of all the executive 
departments. We shall consider the executive depart- 
ments under this clause. 

The President's Cabinet. — All the executive duties 
of the nation are transacted by the President and his 
cabinet. The chief executive is held responsible for all 
executive action, and it is right for him to have close and 
confidential relation with the officers of his official family. 
All questions of importance and of public nature are pre- 
sented to him by the officers of the different departments 
before they are acted upon, and when questions of national 
importance are to be discussed, these discussions take place 
in regular meetings where the entire cabinet is present. 
The chief executive can act, if he desires, independently 
of any member of the cabinet, or of the entire cabinet, as 
its action is merely advisory. All the heads of the execu- 
tive departments are appointed by the President by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate. The salary 
for all cabinet officials was placed at $12,000 per annum 
in 1907, where it still remains. 

Congress has by law established the following ten de- 
partments : — 

The Department of State. 

The Department of the Treasury. 

The Department of War. 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 1 83 

The Department of the Navy. 

The Department of the Post Office. 

The Department of the Interior. 

The Department of Justice. 

The Department of Agriculture. 

The Department of Commerce. 

The Department of Labor. 

The heads of these departments are the members of 
the cabinet and are in a sense representatives of the Presi- 
dent, who in matters of administration carries out through 
them his policies as agreed upon. They are frequently 
sent to make addresses, and it is arranged that they are 
often invited to banquets and important gatherings to 
express the views of the President on matters of public 
policy. These views, as well as those expressed directly 
by the President himself, are discussed by the country 
at large, and the President is no doubt influenced by the 
manner in which they are received. 

Department of State. — The secretary of state is the 
highest cabinet officer, and is usually regarded as occupying 
a position next in importance to that of the President of 
the United States. The entire business of our govern- 
ment with foreign governments is transacted through his 
department, and foreign diplomacy is his most important 
work. The secretary prepares state papers, issues proc- 
lamations in the name of the President, conducts the 
correspondence with foreign nations, has charge of the 
archives of the government, and is responsible for the safe- 
keeping of the original copies of every law, treaty, and 
official document. He is also custodian of the great seal 
of the United States of America and has under his direction 
the entire diplomatic corps. Besides this, he issues pass- 



184 THE NATION 

ports to citizens who desire to visit foreign countries ; pre- 
sents the ministers of foreign governments to the President 
of the United States ; and conducts the correspondence 
between the President and the governors of states. There 
are three assistant secretaries of state. 

The Diplomatic Services. — Diplomatic representatives 
of any government have special privileges and immunities 
in the countries to which they are sent. They are in no 
sense amenable to the local jurisdiction of the law, while 
their houses and papers must be guarded and kept sacred. 
This protection applies, with few exceptions, to their fami- 
lies and even their suite. The diplomatic representatives 
of the United States are divided into four classes : — 

Ambassadors. 

Envoys Extraordinary and Ministers Plenipotentiary. 

Ministers Resident. 

Charges d'Affaires. 

Ambassadors are now sent to the more important coun- 
tries of Europe and America, — such as Austria-Hungary, 
Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, Russia, Spain, 
Turkey, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile. They are 
ministers of the highest rank. Their duties are to represent 
the United States in all diplomatic functions, safeguard 
its interest, protect its citizens, and cultivate good feeling. 
The length of their term of office is not fixed by law but is 
determined by the President's will in the matter. The 
ambassadors receive $17,500 annually. 

Envoys extraordinary and ministers plenipotentiary are 
next to the ambassadors in rank and receive from $10,000 
to $12,000 annually. They are sent to about thirty govern- 
ments, their duties being similar to those of the ambassadors. 

Ministers resident are inferior in rank to envoys extraor- 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 185 

dinary and ministers plenipotentiary. Charges d'affaires 
stand next to ministers resident in rank. These titles 
are rarely used now in our representations abroad. 

The Secretary of Legation. — This officer is the secretary 
to an embassy. There are generally two or three of these 
clerks attached to each foreign office. During an interval, 
when on account of death there is no minister, the first 
secretary of legation attends to the country's business. 

Consuls. — Consuls are the government's commercial 
agents and are located in different parts of the world. 
They have many duties to perform. President Harrison, in 
writing about these duties, said : — 

"He is the protector and guardian of American commerce; 
provides for destitute American sailors and sends them home ; 
takes charge of the effects of American citizens dying in his 
jurisdiction and having no legal representative; receives the 
declarations or protest of our citizens in any matter affecting 
their rights ; keeps a record of the arrival and departure of 
American ships and of their cargoes, and looks after vessels 
wrecked." 

Since the chief duties of consuls relate to commercial 
affairs abroad, it seems, it would be better to have the 
whole consular service a part of the department of com- 
merce, rather than the department of state, and there is a 
growing demand for this change. Consuls receive a salary 
of from $1000 to $5000. There are a few consuls general- 
at-large, about sixty consuls-general appointed by the 
United States at the larger cities of the world, who are 
assisted by more than two hundred and fifty consuls and 
many consular agents who receive from $2000 to $12,000 
in salaries. With the exception of the consular agents who 
are paid by the fees, all fees are collected and paid into the 



1 86 THE NATION 

treasury. Since 1906, the consular service has been under 
the civil service act. Most nations guarantee by treaty 
that consuls shall be free from arrest, and that consular 
papers shall be preserved in safety. 

Department of the Treasury. — The secretary of the 
treasury is at the head of the treasury department. The 
plan of its organization was worked out and put in operation 
by Alexander Hamilton. Webster, in speaking of Hamil- 
ton's great work and his financial ability, said : " He smote 
the rock of national resources, and abundant streams of 
revenue gushed forth. He touched the dead corpse of 
public credit, and it sprang upon its feet." National 
strength and independence depend upon national revenue 
as well as on other things. Governments, like individual 
enterprises, require financial foresight, thought, business 
management, and integrity to handle properly their financial 
affairs and establish a national confidence and credit. A 
department of the treasury was organized in 1775. In 
1 781 a finance department was created ; in 1789 the present 
department was created. 

Duties of the secretary. — It is the duty of the secretary 
of the treasury to prepare plans for the management and 
collection of all revenue ; to maintain the public credit ; 
to recommend methods of keeping public accounts ; and 
to authorize the issuing and payment of all warrants accord- 
ing to appropriations made by law. It is his duty to make 
regular reports of the financial condition of the government 
and to make such recommendations to the President con- 
cerning it as he may deem proper ; also, to keep the Presi- 
dent informed concerning all questions of importance con- 
nected with the treasury department. As he is a member 
of the President's cabinet, and has under his supervision a 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 1 87 

part of the work connected with the national executive 
department, it is his duty to give his best thought and labors 
to make the financial department reflect honor upon the 
nation and the administration of the President. All the 
government's receipts and expenditures pass through 
the treasury, making it the most elaborate, far-reaching, and 
complex of all cabinet departments. There are three 
assistant secretaries of the treasury. 

Other officers of the treasury department. — There is a 
comptroller, whose duty it is to decide appeals from the 
decisions of the auditors ; also, to collect debts due the gov- 
ernment, and prescribe forms of keeping all public accounts 
except those of the post-office department. 

There are six auditors who scrutinize all accounts of the 
government. The one known as the first auditor checks 
up all the accounts for the treasury department ; the second 
auditor is assigned to the war department ; the third audi- 
tor, to the interior department ; the fourth, to the navy and 
the fifth, to the state and other departments, excepting the 
postal service. The sixth auditor is assigned to the post- 
office department, where he looks after accounts and con- 
tracts, and has the largest corps of assistants of any account- 
ing officer connected with the government. 

The comptroller of the currency has charge of the super- 
vision of national banks. Under the federal reserve act of 
1913, the comptroller of the currency is made a member of 
the federal reserve board as elsewhere noted, and accord- 
ingly receives an additional salary. The salary of the 
comptroller is $13,000 annually. 

The treasurer has direct charge of all the money of the 
United States, receiving it and paying it out upon the 
warrant of the secretary of the treasury, countersigned by 



1 88 THE NATION 

the comptroller. There are assistant treasurers in charge 
of the subtreasuries at Boston, New York, Philadelphia, 
Baltimore, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis, New Orleans, 
and San Francisco. 

The register of the treasury signs all paper money and 
bonds of the government ; also, transfers of money from the 
treasury to any other depository. 

The bureau of engraving and printing engraves the plates 
and prints the paper notes, bonds, and stamps for the gov- 
ernment. Nearly two thousand persons are employed for 
this work. 

The solicitor is the attorney for the treasury department. 
He prosecutes counterfeiters and violators of the customs 
laws, and helps collect debts due the government except 
those due under the excise laws. 

The bureau of internal revenue collects the excise taxes 
and enforces the internal revenue laws. It has many dis- 
trict supervisors and agents. 

In addition to the more important officers mentioned 
above connected with the treasury department there are 
many minor officers, such as the director of the mint, and the 
superintendent of the life saving service, which service 
has men stationed at dangerous places along the coasts and 
on the Great Lakes to aid in saving life. 

Department of War. — The war department was organ- 
ized August 7, 1789. The secretary of war is at the head 
of this department. Congress provided for an assistant 
secretary in 1890. The law defining the secretary's duty 
reads : " The secretary of war shall perform such duties 
as shall from time to time be enjoined on or intrusted to him 
by the President relative to military commissions, the mili- 
tary forces, the warlike stores of the United States, or toother 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 1 89 

matters respecting military affairs ; and he shall conduct the 
business of the department in such manner as the Presi- 
dent shall direct." The secretary of war represents the 
President in the capacity of commander in chief of the 
army. Since 1903, there is a general staff, the chief of which 
is an army officer, named by the President for a term of four 
years, who has control of the troops of the whole army, as 
well as general supervision over the nine administrative 
bureaus of the war department given below : — 

Office of the Adjutant General. 

Office of the Inspector General. 

Office of the Judge-advocate General. 

Office of the Chief of the Quartermaster Corps. 

Office of the Surgeon General. 

Office of the Chief of Engineers. 

The Ordnance Office. 

The Signal Office. 

Bureau of Insular Affairs. 

The nature of work done in each division can be readily 
seen from the title of the office. 

The Military Academy. — The military academy, located 
at West Point, New York, is under the supervision of the 
war department. It was established by the government 
in 1802. The object of this school is to educate officers for 
the army. The cadets at the academy are appointed, one 
from each congressional district, on the recommendation 
of the congressman from that district ; two from each state 
at large, recommended by the senators ; and forty from the 
United States at large, generally after a competitive exam- 
ination ; one from each territory ; one from the District 
of Columbia ; and one from Porto Rico. Recommendations 
are made by the secretary of war, but all are appointed by 



190 THE NATION 

the President of the United States. Appointees to the 
academy must be not less than seventeen nor more than 
twenty-two years of age. The entire expense of the 
academy is met by the government. A cadet is allowed 
$709.50 annually, which pays all his expenses, and on grad- 
uation at the end of four years' study, is commissioned 
second lieutenant in the regular army, with a salary of 
$1700 a year. 

Department of the Navy. — The navy department was 
established by an act of Congress in April, 1798. The 
secretary of the navy is at the head of this department. 
The law says : " The secretary of the navy shall execute 
such orders as he shall receive from the President relative 
to the procurement of naval stores and materials, and the 
construction, armament, equipment, and employment of 
vessels of war, as well as all other matters connected with 
the naval establishment." 

Bureaus. — The naval department has many bureaus 
with naval officers at their heads. These officers are ap- 
pointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. 
The bureaus are as follows : — 

Bureau of Navigation. 

Bureau of Yards and Docks. 

Bureau of Ordnance. 

Bureau of Construction and Repair. 

Bureau of Steam Engineering. 

Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. 

Bureau of Supplies and Accounts. 

The principal men in these bureaus are officers of the 
United States Navy. The legal adviser to the navy is called 
the judge-advocate general. 

The Naval Academy. — The naval academy at Annapolis 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 191 

is under the supervision of the secretary of the navy. The 
government pays for maintaining this school for the training 
of naval officers. It sustains the same relation to the navy 
that the military academy does to the army. Students at 
entrance must be between sixteen and twenty years of age. 
Two cadets are allowed for each member of Congress and 
territorial delegate, two from the District of Columbia, and 
five at large. The secretary of the navy appoints the naval 
cadets on the recommendation by congressmen and sena- 
tors, except the members at large, who are appointed by the 
President. Four years are spent at the academy, then two 
years at sea. During these six years a cadet receives $600 
a year. 

Post Office Department. — The post office department 
was established in 1789, but the postmaster general was not 
made a member of the cabinet until 1829. The postmaster 
general has the general superintendence of all matters con- 
nected with the carrying of mails and the establishment 
and management of post offices ; also, the power to appoint 
postmasters whose salaries are less than $1000 per annum 
The President appoints those who receive $1000 or more. 
The postmaster general is ably assisted in the management 
and execution of the heavy duties of this department by the 
first, second, third, and fourth assistant postmasters general, 
and by many officers, superintendents, and clerks. 

Mailable matter is divided into four classes : The first 
class consists of letters, postal cards, and everything that is 
sealed ; the rate of postage is two cents per ounce or frac- 
tion thereof. Second-class matter consists of newspapers 
and other periodicals issued as often as four times annually ; 
the rate of postage for publishers is one cent a pound or 
fraction thereof, but for other than publishers, one cent 



192 THE NATION 

for each four ounces. Third-class matter consists of printed 
matter not admitted to second class, as books and circulars ; 
the rate of postage is one cent for each two ounces. Fourth- 
class matter consists of merchandise and all matter not in- 
cluded in the other three classes ; the rate of postage varies 
with the weight and the distance carried. The United 
States is a member of the Universal Postal Union, com- 
prising nearly all the civilized nations. This allows uni- 
form postal rates, and the facilities for handling mail in 
these countries are guaranteed to all members. 

The Department of the Interior. — This department was 
established in March, 1849. The secretary of the interior is 
the head of this department. An assistant secretary and 
many subordinate officers and clerks are employed in this 
department, but all are under the general supervision of the 
secretary of the interior, who is charged with the supervi- 
sion of public business relating to the following impor- 
tant matters : — 

Public lands. — The commissioner of public lands has 
charge of all public lands and surveys. The public lands 
now remaining unappropriated and unreserved aggregate 
about 700,000,000 acres. 

Pensions. — The commissioner of pensions is at the head 
of the pension service. He has supervision of the granting 
and paying of pensions to soldiers. In recent years these 
pensions have amounted to about $150,000,000 annually, 
and an act passed in 191 2 greatly increases this sum. 

Indian affairs. — The commissioner of Indian affairs 
supervises Indian reservations and schools. 

Patents. — The patent office is presided over by a commis- 
sioner and an assistant commissioner, who register patents, 
examine into claims, and decide controversies about them. 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 1 93 

Education. — The commissioner of education is at the 
head of a bureau that collects and publishes information on 
educational matters. 

Department of Justice. — The attorney general is at 
the head of the department of justice. He is the chief law 
officer of the government ; acts as legal adviser for all the 
departments ; also, renders written opinions concerning 
points of law when so requested by the President, and acts 
as the attorney for the United States in all cases it may have 
in the Supreme Court. He makes an annual report of the 
work of the department to Congress. It is his duty to 
examine the title of all lands the government proposes to 
buy for sites for public buildings, arsenals, dockyards, and 
post offices. The United States district attorneys and 
marshals are under his supervision. 

The attorney general has many assistants. A solicitor 
and an assistant solicitor of the treasury, a solicitor of in- 
ternal revenue, solicitors for the state department and other 
departments, and many clerks also belong to the department 
of justice. 

Department of Agriculture. — This department was per- 
manently organized and its head secretary made a cabinet 
officer in 1889. Prior to this time there was a " depart- 
ment of agriculture." which was one of the bureaus of the 
department of the interior. This department offers the 
people an opportunity to obtain useful knowledge concern- 
ing agriculture and agricultural products. It distributes 
seeds of many varieties among the farmers and conducts 
experiment stations and farms in every part of the country. 
It has under its supervision the forestry service, the weather 
bureau, the bureau of animal industry, the bureau of plant 
industry, the bureau of chemistry, and other divisions and 



194 THE NATION 

bureaus devoted to agricultural science. The department 
of agriculture is now busily engaged in furnishing expert 
direction to farmers and fruit growers of the United States ; 
also, it has done much good in organizing in the rural schools, 
particularly in the South, boys' corn-growing clubs, and 
girls' canning societies. 

Department of Commerce. — The department of com- 
merce and labor was created in 1903, and ten years later 
was divided into two departments. Many of the bureaus 
and divisions of the government's works were transferred 
to this department from other departments. The depart- 
ment of commerce has under its charge mining, manufac- 
turing, shipping, and the general promotion of trade 
interests. The census, fisheries, lighthouses, standards, 
corporations, foreign and domestic commerce bureaus, are 
all in the charge of the department of commerce. 

Department of Labor. — The duty of this department is 
to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the toiling 
masses of the United States ; to improve their working 
conditions, and to advance their opportunities. From 1903 
to 1 9 13 it was part of the department of commerce and 
labor. In 19 13 the separate department of labor was given 
charge of the bureaus of immigration, of naturalization, 
of labor statistics, and of the newly created children's 
bureau. The children's bureau was created in 191 2 to 
investigate and report upon all matters pertaining to the 
welfare of children ; especially to inquire into the questions 
of infant mortality, the birth rate, dangerous occupations, 
and legislation affecting children in the several states and 
territories. 

Minor Executive Departments. — The President appoints 
an interstate commerce commission which regulates rates 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 1 95 

of common carriers. This has been discussed in Chapter IX. 
The President also appoints the civil service commission, 
whose work is discussed below. 

The public printing office is a minor branch of the 
executive service. The public printer appointed by the 
President, and confirmed by the Senate, appoints all his 
officers and employees under civil service rules. 

The Civil Service Commission. — The appointive power 
for all important United States officials, for which other 
provision is not definitely provided, rests with the President, 
and cannot be taken from him. However, in Article II, 
Section 2, Clause 2, it is provided that the Congress may by 
law vest the appointment of such inferior officers as they 
think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, 
or in the heads of departments. The spoils system, as it is 
known, meaning the turning out of all officials without cause 
or reason other than political every time the parties changed 
in government, held sway in the nation until about 1883. 

Attempt at reform legislation. — There was so much evil 
connected with this rotation in office, that in 1868 Congress 
finally authorized the President to establish and execute, 
through a civil service commission, such rules and require- 
ments for appointees as he might desire for the public wel- 
fare. President Grant, anxious to yield some of his power, 
established the commission. It was in force until 1874, 
when Congress, which was not yet weaned from the spoils 
system, stopped the appropriation for the commission. 

The Pendleton Act. — A great amount of " graft " and dis- 
order coming to light during the Grant and Hayes admin- 
istrations, and the assassination of President Garfield by 
a disappointed office seeker, combined to make a demand 
on Congress to reform the law of appointment of minor 



196 THE NATION 

United States officials. In 1883 the civil service law, gen- 
erally called the Pendleton Act, was passed. It established 
a civil service commission to be composed of three members, 
not more than two of whom should be of the same political 
faith ; the commission to be appointed by the President. 
Examinations are held under the supervision of the com- 
mission ordinarily twice a year, in the departments at 
Washington, and in customhouses and post offices, where 
at least as many as fifty officers are employed in conducting 
such offices. When a vacancy occurs, the names of three 
persons who have taken the examination and are highest 
on the per cent list, are submitted, and one of them is 
chosen; unless it should be found that none of them is 
eligible, in which case three others are called for. The 
position is given to the one on the list having the highest 
grade, who is given a six months' trial before permanent 
appointment. 

Who may be appointed. — It should be clearly under- 
stood that political creed has nothing to do with the appoint- 
ments under the civil service act. According to the plan 
as intended appointments are to go to the states according 
to population ; but this is impracticable, because the 
appointees from a great distance often will not go to Wash- 
ington where most of the positions are, for the small sal- 
aries paid; hence, states nearest the capital get most of 
the positions. In 1909, a law was passed providing that 
appointees must have taken their examinations in some one 
of the states where they had lived for one year prior to 
accepting a position. This was intended to prevent candi- 
dates in Washington from getting the majority of places. 
The civil service law does not apply to positions when the 
consent of the Senate is required; nor does it extend to 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 1 97 

unskilled labor. The act has been extended by several 
Presidents, to embrace many classes of officials not included 
in the first law, the last important extension being fourth- 
class postmasters, but offices may be withdrawn by an 
unfriendly President. The civil service commission pub- 
lishes the prescribed rules and the qualifications necessary, 
before each examination, so that any one interested in any 
vacancy or position, may find out what is necessary to get 
it, or to get on the waiting list for it or any similar position. 
The classified service has been extended until it now in- 
cludes the departmental service in Washington, and posi- 
tions in , the post offices, the customhouses, the railway 
mail service, the Indian office, internal revenue service, and 
government printing office. 

Results. — Under the law of 1897, no one appointed under 
the competitive examination of the civil service system may 
be removed without written charges, and the accused must 
have opportunity for defense. This was modified in 1905, 
so that the President or the head of an executive department 
may remove an official without a hearing in his defense ; 
however, the cause of removal must be stated in writing 
and filed. The great results are better qualified and more 
competent men ; better public service ; fewer blunders, 
due to the inexperience existing under the spoils system ; 
and the freeing of the President and heads of departments 
at Washington from annoyance due to hordes of petty 
office seekers, and thus enabling them to use their time for 
more important work. Some evils have crept into the 
system, and some objections may be urged against it, but 
its improvement over the spoils system far surpasses all of 
its objectionable features. Over 260,000 employees in the 
federal service are now under the classified service rule. Of 



198 THE NATION 

the 411,322 civil officers and employees of the United States 
government in 191 2, only about 11,000 were appointed 
directly by the President. The numbers given do not 
include officers and men in the army and navy. 1 

Sec. 2, Clause 2. — He shall have power, by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of 
the senators present concur ; and he shall nominate and, by and with 
the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, 
other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, 
and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are 
not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by 
law; but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such 
inferior officers as they think proper, in the President alone, in the 
courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 

Treaties. — A treaty is a solemn agreement between two 
nations. The President, with the " advice and consent " 
of the Senate, has power to make treaties, provided two 
thirds of the senators present concur. Black's " Constitu- 
tional Law " says : " This power embraces the making of 
treaties of every sort and condition ; for peace or war ; 
for commerce or territory ; for alliance or success ; for in- 
demnity ; for injuries or payment of debts ; for the recogni- 
tion and enforcement of principles of public law ; for the 
regulation of immigration and the rights of aliens ; for rules 
of navigation ; for arbitrations ; and, in short, for all the 
varied purposes which the policy or interests or independent 
sovereigns may dictate in their intercourse with each 
other." 

Terms of a treaty. — The terms of a treaty are usually 
first negotiated by ministers or ambassadors appointed by 
the countries interested. After an agreement is reached, 
1 Senate Document, No. 836. 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 199 

the President turns the matter over to the Senate which 
considers it in an executive session with closed doors. 
The Senate having ratified the treaty the President signs 
it. When the treaty requires the appropriation of money. 
the House of Representatives is generally consulted. 
It is doubted by some whether a treaty requiring the appro- 
priation of money could be enforced without the consent 
of the House. Chancellor Kent, in speaking of this point, 
says : " If a treaty be the law of the land, it is as much 
obligatory upon Congress as upon any other branch of gov- 
ernment or upon the people at large, so long as it continues 
in force and unrepealed." Congress has been consulted 
by the President in each of the great purchases of territory. 

Nominations to Office. — Ambassadors, public ministers, 
consuls, federal judges, and other officers of the United 
States are nominated hi writing by the President. The 
Senate has no right to make the nomination, but it can 
confirm or reject the nomination made by the President. 
If the nomination of the President is rejected, he has the 
right to make another. The advantage of this method of 
appointment is set forth by Mr. Hamilton in the following 
words : " The blame of a bad nomination would fall upon 
the President singly and absolutely. The censure of reject- 
ing a good one would be entirely at the door of the Senate, 
aggravated by the consideration of their having counter- 
acted the good intentions of the Executive. If an ill ap- 
pointment should be made, the Executive for nominating. 
and the Senate for approving, would participate, though in 
different degrees, in the opprobrium and disgrace.'" 

Other Officers. — We have seen that under the Constitu- 
tion, ambassadors, public ministers, and judges of the 
Supreme Court must be nominated by the President and 



200 THE NATION 

confirmed by the Senate. Congress, however, is given the 
power to enact laws to regulate the appointment of " in- 
ferior officers.'' Various provisions and methods for the 
appointment of federal officers not named in the Consti- 
tution have been made by Congress. If the rilling of any 
federal office, however small, should not be provided for by 
Congress, it would be the duty of the President and the 
Senate to make an appointment. Cabinet officers are not 
inferior officers ; hence are appointed by the President 
and the Senate. 

Removal from Office. — The President has the power 
to remove an officer and make a temporary appointment 
while the Senate is not in session. When the Senate meets, 
the newly appointed officer's name comes before that body, 
but if the Senate refuses to confirm the new nomination, 
the President will send the name of another. The 
President's power of removal now is unlimited. 

Sec. 2, Clause 3. — The President shall have power to fill up 
all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by 
granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next 
session. 

Vacancies may occur when the Senate is not in session, 
and the President has a right under these circumstances to 
issue commissions filling the vacancies until the end of the 
next session of the Senate. 

Sec. 3, Clause 1. — He shall from time to time give to the Con- 
gress information of the state of the Union, and recommend to their 
consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and 
expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both 
Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between 
them with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn 
them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 201 

ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that 
the laws be faithfully executed; and shall commission all the 
officers of the United States. 

The President's Message. — It is customary for the 
President, at the beginning of each session, to send a mes- 
sage to Congress containing a condensed report of the 
executive departments and general " information of the 
state of the Union." It is also his duty, in submitting his 
message to Congress, to recommend such legislation as he 
deems advisable and expedient and of general interest to 
the nation. When a special session of Congress is called, 
he sets forth, in his message addressed to this session, reasons 
for assembling Congress and makes such recommendation 
as he may deem proper. He has no power to call an extra 
session except on extraordinary occasions, which, in his 
judgment, require immediate attention. Washington and 
Adams delivered their messages in person. Jefferson and 
his successors for many years did not attend sessions of 
Congress, but sent messages and special communications 
to it in writing. President Woodrow Wilson, however, 
delivered his messages to the sixty- third Congress in person, 
thus breaking a precedent of over a century. 

Adjournment of Congress. — In case the Senate and 
the House of Representatives disagree as to a time for 
adjournment, the President may adjourn Congress to such 
a time as he may deem proper, but he never exercises the 
right. The House of Representatives has never been 
convened alone, but the Senate frequently meets alone at 
the request of the President to confirm nominations of 
officials and consider treaties. 

Reception of Ministers. — Ambassadors and other public 
ministers present their credentials to the secretary of state, 



202 THE NATION 

who goes with them to the White House and presents them 
to the President. Reception of a foreign minister is a recog- 
nition of the country from which he comes as " belonging to 
the commonwealth of nations." A refusal to recognize a 
minister of an independent sovereign nation, would be con- 
sidered an insult, and would lead to strained and dangerous 
international relations. Foreign governments almost inva- 
riably quietly ascertain whether a certain man will be ac- 
ceptable to our government before they publicly announce 
his appointment as a representative, and our country 
takes the same precaution abroad. A minister may be 
personally offensive to our government, may have meddled 
in our national affairs, as did Lord Sackville-West, who was 
ordered from the United States in 1888 ; or he may have a 
political record incompatible with our institutions. Any 
of these reasons would cause our government to refuse an 
ambassador, or send him away after receiving him. 

Execution of the Laws. — It makes no difference whether 
the President believes a law to be just or unjust, it is his 
duty to enforce it. The execution of the laws is the most 
important duty imposed upon the chief executive, and he 
depends upon his agents and officials all over the nation to 
attend to their official duties to that end. Should local fed- 
eral officers, such as United States marshals, be unable to en- 
force federal law, the President must use the army and navy. 

Article II, Section 4. — The President, Vice President, and all 
civil officers of the United States shall be removed from office on 
impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high 
crimes and misdemeanors. 

Article I, Section 2, Clause 5. — The House of Representatives 
shall choose their speaker and other officers, and shall have the sole 
power of impeachment. 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 203 

Sec. 3, Clause 6. — The Senate shall have the sole power to 
try all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall 
be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the United States 
is tried, the chief justice shall preside; and no person shall be con- 
victed without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. 

Section 3, Clause 7. — Judgment in cases of impeachment shall 
not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification 
to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United 
States; but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and sub- 
ject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, according to 
law. 

Article II, Section 2, Clause i. — The President shall . ... . 
have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the 
United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

Impeachment. — The various articles bearing on im- 
peachment have been considered elsewhere in their regular 
order, but everything in the Constitution on the subject 
is here arranged so that the student may see it all at a 
glance. 

Impeachment originated in England in the fourteenth 
century. The language, " other high crimes and misde- 
meanors," is not very clear, and our method of de- 
termining guilt is slow and clumsy. The House of 
Representatives is the prosecutor, and the Senate, with 
the Vice President presiding, unless the President is on 
trial, is the judge and jury. Conviction can be only 
by a two-thirds vote : a strong safeguard against party 
prejudice, and the excited clamors of the hour. While 
resting under impeachment charges, and even during his 
trial, the official may go on with the duties of his office. 
The Constitution does not define clearly who are " civil 
officers," but members of Congress and military and naval 



204 THE NATION 

officers are punished for official misconduct in other ways, 
so they would probably be the only exceptions among 
United States officials. There have been, in all, nine federal 
impeachment cases up to the present time ; eight have come 
to trial, resulting in only three convictions. The most 
notable case was that of President Andrew Johnson, who 
was acquitted by lack of one vote. Of the three convic- 
tions, two were district judges, and the third (in 1913) was 
a judge of the commerce court. Minor officials, when 
misconduct seems evident, are generally asked to resign. 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

Bancroft : History of the United States. (See index.) 

Beard : American Government and Politics, ch. XV. 

Bryce: The American Commonwealth, I (3d ed.), 15-86. 

Channing : Student's History of United States. 

Fish : The Development of American Nationality, ch. XVI. 

Fiske: Civil Government, 224-240. 

Forman: Advanced Civics, 132-143. 

Garner : Government in the United States, chs. XV, XVI, XVII. 

Harrison : This Country of Ours, chs. IV, VI. 

Hart : Actual Government, ch. XV. 

James and Sanford : Government in State and Nation, rev. 
ed., 213-232. 

Johnston and Woodburn : American Political History, I, 70-83. 

Reinsch: Readings on the American Federal Government, chs. I, 
II, III. 

Stanwood : History of the Presidency. (See index.) 

Walker: Making of the Nation, 73-167. 

Source Material and Supplementary Aids. — Calls for national 
conventions. Party platforms. Campaign textbooks. The list of 
electors chosen in your state. Ballots with all presidential candi- 
dates and state officers upon them. Copies of presidential messages. 
Veto messages. Civil service laws and regulations, with examination 
questions. Copies of treaties and consular reports. 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 205 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. Why is the executive power of the United States vested in only 
one man ? 

2. How are electors nominated? How elected? Why was this 
plan of choosing the President adopted ? Has it worked well ? Why ? 

3. How many electors has your state? How do the political 
parties, as a rule, divide the popular vote in your state ? 

4. How did the Twelfth Amendment change the manner of elect- 
ing Presidents? 

5. Why would not a direct vote and a popular majority be a good 
way to choose the President? 

6. Give examples when unusual conditions prevailed in the elec- 
tion of the President. How settled ? 

7. What is meant by a minority President? 

8. In case of death or impeachment of the President, how is he 
succeeded ? 

9. How is the President nominated? How many votes does your 
state have in a national convention ? Why ? 

10. Has the President's power increased or decreased since 1789? 
Should it be increased ? Why ? 

11. Should cabinet positions ever be made elective? Why? 
Should cabinet members sit in Congress, but without a vote ? Why ? 

12. Examine the duties of each cabinet department. 

13. Wherein is the spoils system bad? Do Presidents like civil 
service reform measures ? Why ? 

14. Why would our department of state be better named the 
department of foreign affairs ? 

15. If there is doubt about what a law means, who advises the 
President? May the President enforce his own interpretation? 
Why? 

QUESTION FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That the Constitution should be amended so that a 
President should be elected for a term of six years and be ineligible 
for reelection. 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 

Article III, Section i. — The judicial power of the United 
States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior 
courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. 
The judges, both of the Supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their 
offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for 
their services a compensation, which shall not be diminished during 
their continuance in office. 

Dignity of the Judiciary. — It is easy to belittle the 
dignity, importance, and independence of the national 
judiciary and offer various and dangerous methods of 
reconstructing it, because the Supreme Court or some other 
federal court fails to construe the law in accordance with 
our individual views. The very fact that, men differ in 
construing the meaning of the law makes a national 
interpreting power of federal jurisdiction an essential 
and natural part of the organic law of our land. The 
principle that made government a necessity and that 
justifies the national Constitution, is the same principle 
upon which the national judicial system is built. Webster, 
in speaking of the national judiciary, said : " The Consti- 
tution without it would be no Constitution, the government 
no government." It is a known fact that the greatest men 
in American history have been strong and patriotic advo- 
cates of the national judiciary. Washington wrote James 
Wilson as follows : — 

206 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 207 

" Considering the judicial system as the chief pillar upon 
which our government must rest, I have thought it my duty to 
nominate for the high offices in that department such men as I 
conceive would give dignity and luster to the national character." 

Jefferson said : — 

" The dignity and stability of government in all its branches, 
the morals of the people, and every blessing of society depend 
so much upon an. upright and skillful administration of justice, 
that the judicial power ought to be distinct from both the 
legislative and executive, and independent of both, so that it 
may be a check upon both, as both should be checks upon it." 

Necessity of a Judiciary. — It would be useless to make 
laws unless there was a judiciary to interpret and apply 
them. Without a national judiciary every state would 
make its own interpretation and application of the federal 
laws, and this condition would necessarily lead to serious 
misunderstandings and great wrongs. Aware of the diffi- 
culty of obtaining justice under the Articles of Confederation, 
the framers of the Constitution were not slow in providing 
for an independent judiciary easily accessible to the people, 
in order that justice might be done. 

Federal Courts. — The Constitution specifies definitely 
the Supreme Court, and gives Congress the power to create 
and organize other federal courts. The federal courts of the 
United States, as now named in the regular order given 
them in the recent revised and amended codification, desig- 
nated the " Judicial Code " which took effect January 1, 
1912, are 1 : — 

District Courts. 

Circuit Courts of Appeals. 

1 See Public Document No. 475 — An act to codify, revise, and amend 
laws relating to the judiciary. 



2o8 THE NATION 

Court of Claims. 

Court of Customs Appeals. 

Commerce Court. 1 

Supreme Court. 

The following minor special courts have been created by 
Congress, and as will be noted, they are entirely different 
in the scope of their jurisdiction from those named : 
Courts of the District of Columbia, territorial, and insular. 

The courts will be considered from the standpoint of their 
organization and as they are named in the Judicial Code. 

The District Court. — This court was organized in 1789. 
The country was originally divided into thirteen districts. 
There are now about eighty. Each constitutes one district 
or is divided into two or more districts. The maximum 
number of districts in any one state is four. If a state has 
only one district court, the code specifies where the judge 
shall hold court and when ; if the state has more than one 
district court, each district is expressly specified as to the 
number of counties included, and when and where the court 
shall be held. One judge, called a district judge, presides 
over each district created, except that in some districts 
additional judges are assigned, and in a very few cases one 
district judge presides over two districts. Congress creates 
new district courts whenever it is deemed necessary, and 
there are now (1914) about one hundred district judges. 
Every district judge must reside in the district for which he 
is appointed. He receives a salary of $6000 a year, and he 
has the right to appoint a clerk, who appoints his own 

1 In 19 10 there was created a new federal court of record known as the 
commerce court. It was created expressly to consider appeals from the in- 
terstate commerce commission. It was abolished by an item in the urgent 
deficiency bill which became a law in 1913. 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 200, 

assistants, and a crier. A marshal is appointed for each 
-district court, whose duties are to execute the decrees of the 
court, to select men for the grand and other juries, and to 
act as an agent of the executive part of the government. 
There is also a district attorney who prosecutes and defends 
in the federal courts all suits to which the United States is 
a party. The marshal and district attorney are both ap- 
pointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. 1 

The Circuit Courts of Appeals. — These courts were 
organized in 1891 on account of the crowded docket of the 
Supreme Court. The United States is divided into nine 
judicial circuits, each having a circuit court of appeals, 
consisting usually of three judges. Several circuit judges 
are appointed for each circuit. The salary is S7000 a year, 
and the judges mast reside within their circuits. In addi- 
tion, the chief justice and the associate justices of the Su- 
preme Court are allotted, one to each of the nine circuits. 
When necessary, also, one or more district judges within 
the circuit may help constitute the circuit court of appeals, 
but never may a district court judge sit in any case he has 
previously heard and passed judgment upon. The United 
States marshals for the several district courts are the 
marshals for the circuit court of appeals. Each court has 
its own clerks and assistant clerks. A term is held annually 
by the circuit court of appeals at a specified city on a speci- 
fied date ; also each year at two other places to be designated 
by the court itself, and additional terms may be added if 
it is deemed advisable. As its name indicates, this court 

1 The district courts may appoint United States commissioners in the 
vicinities in which they sit, to conduct preliminary hearings in criminal 
cases; also referees are appointed to hear preliminary proceedings in 
bankruptcy. 



2IO THE NATION 

has only appellate jurisdiction. Its verdict is final on all 
appeals from the district court, except in cases of capital 
crime, and in a few specified civil cases where an appeal lies 
to the Supreme Court. 

Courts of Special Jurisdiction. — Some special courts 
have been created by Congress to hear and adjudicate par- 
ticular classes of claims and controversies. There are two 
such special tribunals exercising federal authority at 
present : the court of claims, and the court of customs 
appeals. 

Court of Claims. — The court of claims was established 
in 1855. Prior to that date, persons having claims against 
the government could get justice only through petition to 
Congress. The court of claims consists of a chief justice 
and four judges appointed by the President and confirmed 
by the Senate. They hold office for life or during good 
behavior. This court holds one annual session at Wash- 
ington, beginning the first Monday in December and con- 
tinuing as long as may be necessary to dispose of its busi- 
ness. Any three of the judges constitute a quorum. The 
salary is $6500 for the chief justice, and $6000 each for the 
other judges. Senators, representatives, delegates, and 
resident commissioners to Congress are forbidden under 
heavy penalties to practice in the court of claims after their 
election and during their term of office. This is done to 
prevent undue pressure and fraud. Claims for damages or 
other dues may be submitted to this court by the depart- 
ments of the government, or by either House of Congress. 
Aliens may present their claims against the United States 
in this court if from a government where citizens of the 
United States have the same privilege. No interest is 
allowed on claims up to the time of the judgment of the 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 211 

court. Debtors to the government may have the amount 
due ascertained, and the attorney general represents the 
government to see that its interests are protected. All 
judgments of the court of claims are reported to Congress 
on the first day of every regular session, and it appropriates 
the money for payment. Appeals are allowed from this 
court to the Supreme Court on judgments against the gov- 
ernment ; also appeals by the plaintiff, where more than 
$3000 is involved. All such appeals must be filed within 
ninety days after the court of claim's decision. 

Court of Customs Appeals. — The court of customs ap- 
peals was created to expedite the settlement of disputes aris- 
ing from the collection of customs duties. It consists of a 
presiding judge and four associate judges, appointed by the 
President and confirmed by the Senate. The salary is 
$7000 each. The judge, designated as the " presiding judge" 
in the act, is so styled, and the associate judges shall have 
precedence according to the date of their commissions. 
Any three judges make a quorum ; but if for some reason 
one or two of these judges should not be able to sit, the 
President may designate any qualified circuit or district 
judge to act in their places. The court of customs appeals 
is always open for business. It may sit in any of the 
judicial circuits of the country, as it may choose from time 
to time. 

Supreme Court. — The Constitution specifically provides 
for the Supreme Court. This court consists of a chief 
justice of the United States and eight associates, any six 
making a quorum. The associate justices have precedence 
according to the dates of their commissions ; if the latter 
bear the same date, then the precedence is according to 
their ages. If the chief justice should be unable to serve, 



212 THE NATION 

or if there is a vacancy in that office, his duties fall on the 
justice who is first in precedence, until the disability of 
the chief justice is ended or one is appointed. The chief jus- 
tice receives a salary of $i 5,000 annually ; and associate jus- 
tices of the court, $14,500 each. This court holds a session 
at Washington annually, commencing on the second Mon- 
day in October and continuing as long as necessary, gen- 
erally adjourning in May. The judges are the only civil 
officials of the United States who wear an official dress. 
The Supreme Court is the most original and likewise the 
greatest institution organized by the Constitution. Its 
creation is studied with wonder, and its achievements have 
won the admiration of the world. 1 

Minor Special Courts created by Congress. — The Con- 
gress of the United States is authorized to create inferior 
courts, and has practically supreme power in governing terri- 
tory outside the limits of a state. The government of the 
District of Columbia and of our territories and insular pos- 
sessions is treated elsewhere, but the courts will be discussed 
at this point briefly. These tribunals are wholly under the 
control of Congress but are ordinary law courts, and are 
not a part of the regular federal system of courts. In this 
class fall the courts of the District of Columbia, of the 
territories, and partly organized territories, and courts 
recently established in China and the Canal Zone. 

Courts of the District of Columbia. — In the District of 
Columbia, there is a police court for the trial of petty 
offenses ; there are justices of the peace for trivial civil 

1 Circuit Courts. — Until the new Judicial Code took effect, there were 
circuit courts of the United States. They were abolished January i, iqi2. 
All records of these courts, and all unfinished business filed therein, were 
transferred to the United States district courts. 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 213 

cases ; and a regular tribunal called the supreme court of the 
District. This court is composed of the chief justice and 
five associate judges. Over all there is a court of appeals, 
composed of a chief justice and two associate judges. All 
these judges except those for the minor courts are appointed 
by the President, as in the case of the regular federal courts. 
The judges of the minor courts of the district are under the 
appointment of boards created by Congress for the control 
of municipal affairs. Final decrees of the court of appeals 
in the District of Columbia, which hears appeals from the 
Supreme Court of the District only, may be appealed to the 
Supreme Court of the United States and affirmed or denied. 

Territorial courts. Alaska. — The court of Alaska, which 
was created by an act of Congress in 1900, consists of three 
district judges appointed by the President and confirmed 
by the Senate, whose business is wholly with Alaskan affairs. 
Appeals and writs of error may be taken from this court to 
the circuit court of appeals for the ninth circuit which sits 
at San Francisco. Portland, or Seattle ; appeals may also be 
taken from the Alaskan court to the Supreme Court of the 
United States. 

Hawaii. — The judiciary of Hawaii is composed of a 
supreme court, with three judges ; also such inferior courts 
as the territorial legislature may establish. The territory 
is a federal judicial district and has two district judges. 1 
Writs of error and appeals may be taken from the district 
court of Hawaii to the United States circuit court of ap- 
peals ; if a net sum of more than S5000 is involved appeals 
from the supreme court of Hawaii may be taken to the 
Supreme Court of the United States, and have the same 
status as appeals from the highest court of a state. 
1 Public Document Xo. 213, page 69. 



214 THE NATION 

The Philippines. — The Philippine Islands are divided 
into seventeen judicial districts or provinces, each having 
a court of first instance for criminal and civil affairs. There 
is also a supreme court, consisting of a chief justice and 
six associates for Philippine affairs, appeals from which 
may be taken to the Supreme Court of the United States 
when the United States is in any sense involved, or when 
property to the amount of $25,000 is concerned. The 
judges of the supreme court are appointed by the Presi- 
dent of the United States. There are also the usual local 
minor courts, the judges of which are appointed by the 
governor of the Philippines. 

Porto Rico. — The island of Porto Rico, whose status is 
that of a partly organized territory, has municipal courts, 
the judges of which are elected by the people ; a supreme 
court, composed of judges appointed by the President of 
the United States, and a United States district court es- 
pecially for Porto Rico. Appeals may be taken from the 
supreme court of the island to the Supreme Court of the 
United States, in any case where the United States is in- 
volved ; also, whenever the sum involved is more than 
$5000. 

Canal Zone. — In the act of 1Q12, providing for the gov- 
ernment of the Canal Zone, provision was made for a district 
court with two divisions, but both presided over by the 
same judge. The jurisdiction of this court extends to all 
felony cases, causes in equity, admiralty, all cases involving 
sums exceeding three hundred dollars, and all appeals from 
judgments of the local magistrates' courts. The form of 
procedure of the district court in the Canal Zone is similar 
to that of a regular United States district court, and 
appeals from it are to the circuit court of appeals of the 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 215 

fifth circuit of the United States. There is a district at- 
torney and a marshal for the Canal Zone, and together with 
the judge, they are appointed by the President, with the 
consent of the Senate, for terms of four years each. 

United States Court in China. — ■ Since 1906, there has 
been -established in China a United States court. Instead 
of trusting jurisdiction of all cases to our consuls, some of 
the more important ones are intrusted to a single judge 
appointed by the President for a term of four years. The 
establishment of this court on foreign soil is rather unusual, 
but our government does not consider the Chinese able to 
render justice, especially to foreigners. 

Appointment, Tenure, and Salaries of the Federal Ju- 
diciary. — The Constitution specifically says that the 
President shall appoint the judges of the Supreme Court by 
and with the consent of the Senate ; it does not say that 
other judges of the courts created by Congress shall be 
appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, 
but it has been so accepted by implication. All judges of 
the regular federal courts (Supreme, circuit, and district) 
hold office for life or during good behavior. They can be 
removed only by impeachment and conviction, which has 
rarely happened, since the federal judiciary has almost 
invariably been composed of high-minded, honorable men. 
To make the judiciary fearless and independent, Congress 
may increase the salaries of the judges from time to time 
as deemed necessary, but it cannot diminish them. This 
has proved a wise provision. When a judge of any court 
of the United States, seventy years of age or over, resigns 
his office after having served at least ten years continuously, 
he is paid his salary the rest of his life. The judges of the 
higher courts in the District of Columbia, and those of the 



2l6 THE NATION 

United States district courts in the territories and partly 
organized territories hold their positions on the same terms 
as do those of the regular federal judiciary. 

Sec. 2, Clause i. — The judicial power shall extend to all cases, 
in law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the 
United States and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their 
authority; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers 
and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction ; 
to controversies to which the United States shall be a party; to 
controversies between two or more States; between a State and citi- 
zens of another State; between citizens of different States; between 
citizens of the same State claiming lands under grants of different 
States ; and between a Stale or the citizens thereof, and foreign States, 
citizens or subjects. 

Cases. — The Constitution names in a specific way the 
nature of the cases that must be tried before the federal 
courts. This makes certain a uniform interpretation of the 
law governing each case. A case " is a subject on which 
the judicial power is capable of acting and which has been 
submitted to it in a manner required by law." Courts can 
do nothing until cases are regularly brought before them, 
and when this is done, it is their duty to interpret and apply 
the law governing each case and decide the controverted 
question according to law. In brief, the federal courts deal 
first, with the laws of the United States ; state statutes if 
thought contrary to the federal Constitution ; and treaties 
and admiralty affairs ; and second, with matters of such a 
nature as only United States courts can settle, such as a 
question between two states, or between a foreign country 
and a state. 

Cases in law and equity. — These cases include both 
civil and criminal proceedings arising under the Constitu- 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 21 7 

tion, the laws, or the treaties of the United States. Mr. 
Hamilton says : 

" It is the peculiar province, for instance, of a court of equity 
to relieve against what are called hard bargains. These are 
contracts in which, though there may have been no direct fraud 
or deceit sufficient to invalidate them in a court of law, yet 
there may have been some undue and unconscionable advan- 
tage taken of the necessities or misfortunes of one of the parties, 
which a court of equity would not tolerate. In such cases, 
where foreigners were concerned on either side, it would be im- 
possible for the federal judicatories to do justice without an 
equitable, as well as a legal, jurisdiction. Agreements to con- 
vey lands claimed under the grants of different states may 
afford another example of the necessity of an equitable juris- 
diction in the federal courts." 

Whenever a treaty is violated, matters must be adjusted 
by a federal court. 

Chisholm v. Georgia. — The clause relating to contro- 
versies between a state and citizens of another state early 
in 1793 caused trouble. The Supreme Court in the case of 
Chisholm v. Georgia said that a citizen might sue a state 
and granted Chisholm of South Carolina a claim against 
Georgia. Georgia protested bitterly, and as a result the 
Eleventh Amendment became a part of the Constitution. 
It specifically asserts that a state cannot be sued by a 
citizen of another state in any federal court. 

Sec. 2, Clause 2. — In all cases affecting ambassadors, other 
public ministers and consuls, and those in which a Slate shall be 
party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the 
other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate 
jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under 
such regulations as the Congress shall make. 



2l8 THE NATION 

Jurisdiction. — Jurisdiction is the right of a court to hear 
a case and interpret and apply the law governing it. The 
court that first tries the case has original jurisdiction. A 
court has appellate jurisdiction when the case may be 
brought to it after having been first tried in some inferior 
court. A court has exclusive jurisdiction, when a case to 
be decided by it cannot be tried in any other court. The 
jurisdiction of the several federal courts will be given in the 
order used in discussing their organization. 

District courts. — The district courts have jurisdiction 
over the crimes and violations of federal laws. A person 
guilty of counterfeiting money or violating any postal laws 
would be tried in these courts. They have also original 
jurisdiction in bankruptcy proceedings ; violation of national 
banking laws ; of the cases arising under internal revenue 
collection ; all suits under patent, copyright, and trade- 
mark laws ; suits on the regulation of commerce ; suits 
against consuls and vice consuls ; in short, in all crimes and 
offenses cognizable under the authority of the United 
States, and of suits of a civil nature arising under the federal 
Constitution, laws, and treatise. They also have jurisdic- 
tion of any civil case between citizens of different states, if 
the plaintiff chooses to bring his case to the federal courts. 
Such cases are generally brought in the courts of the state 
where the defendant resides. 

The Circuit Court of Appeals. — This court may review 
nearly all cases by appeal or writ of error from the district 
courts. Justice Story defines a writ of error to be " a 
process which removes the record of one court to the pos- 
session of another court and enables the latter to inspect 
the proceedings, and give such judgment as its own opinion 
of the law and justice of the case may warrant." Since 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 219 

1906, the ninth circuit court of appeals comprising the 
Pacific Coast has heard writs of error and appeals from the 
United States court for China. The circuit court, in short, 
has appellate jurisdiction in all cases except where an 
appeal goes directly to the Supreme Court. The circuit 
court of appeals was created to relieve the work of the 
Supreme Court, which it has successfully done. 

Court of Claims. — This court has jurisdiction to hear 
and determine : — 

1. All claims founded upon the Constitution or any 
law of Congress, except pensions ; on any contract with 
the government; or for damages which a party would be 
entitled to if the United States were suable. It has no 
jurisdiction in damage cases growing out of the Civil War. 

2. All counter claims and claims for damages on the part 
of the government against any claimant against the govern- 
ment. 

3. The claims of any paymaster, quartermaster, com- 
missary, or other disbursing officer of the United States, who 
asks relief on account of capture of funds and records for 
which he was responsible. 

The Court of Customs Appeal. — This court was created 
to expedite the settlement of disputes arising from the col- 
lection of customs duties. It exercises sole, exclusive, and 
final jurisdiction to review by appeal all decisions given by 
a board of general appraisers as to the meaning of the 
tariff laws and the facts respecting the classifications of 
merchandise. 1\ also determines the rate of duty imposed, 
fixes the fees and charges connected therewith, and settles 
all appealable questions governing the collection of customs 
revenues. Any one dissatisfied with the decision of the 
board of general appraisers at any port as to the rendition 



220 THE NATION 

of the law, or concerning the rate of duty charged, must 
appeal his case to the court of customs appeal within sixty 
days. 

Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. — The Supreme Court 
has original jurisdiction in all cases affecting ambassadors 
or other public ministers ; and in all civil cases in which a 
state is a party ; but between a state and the citizens of 
other states or aliens, it has original but not exclusive juris- 
diction. In all other cases the Supreme Court has appellate 
jurisdiction. Congress has control of the Supreme Court's 
appellate jurisdiction, as the Constitution does not deter- 
mine it. The greater part of the work of the Supreme 
Court is to review the decisions of the inferior federal 
courts, or of the supreme courts of the states and territories 
when the Constitution or a statute of the United States is 
involved. Such cases reach it by appeal or writ of error. 
In the Supreme Court, every case is discussed twice by all 
the members ; the first time to get the opinion of the ma- 
jority of the court, which is put into writing ; the second 
time, when the member to whom the case was assigned 
reads his decision. The Supreme Court is the final au- 
thority, and its verdict is accepted. It may alter its verdict 
and has occasionally done so in important cases, in con- 
sequence of a change in its personnel ; but its last decision 
is law. 

Defects of the Federal Judiciary. — It is frequently 
charged, and with some truth, that, owing to the small 
salaries paid, only inferior judges are obtainable. This, 
however, is more true of the inferior federal courts than of 
the Supreme Court, where the honor the position carries 
with it always attracts able men. The system of life tenure 
makes judges forget, sometimes, that they are a part of a 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 221 

democracy, But, on the other hand, the courts must not 
yield too readily to the radicalism of the hour. That courts 
sometimes may come under the influence of, and lean too 
sympathetically toward, wealthy corporations whose cases 
come before them, is also charged. This has been true, 
perhaps, of individual cases, but never of the courts as a 
whole. Nothing human can be perfect ; but generally speak- 
ing, the good points in our federal judiciary far exceed the 
defects. The crying needs of the federal courts are to 
simplify legal procedure, allow fewer appeals on technicali- 
ties, prevent unnecessary delays, and lessen the cost of 
litigation. 

Sec. 2, Clause 3. — The trial of all crimes, except in cases of 
impeachment shall be by jury ; and such trial shall be held in the 
State where the said crimes shall have been committed; but when not 
committed within any State, the trial shall be at such place or places 
as the Congress may by law have directed. 

Trial by Jury. — "I consider trial by jury as the only 
anchor ever yet imagined by man, by which a government 
can be held to the principles of its Constitution." — 
Jefferson. 

The trial of all crimes in federal courts must be by jury, 
except in cases of impeachment, and, in this event, the 
members of the Senate take a special oath and sit as a jury 
in the case. The Constitution provides that the trial 
shall be held in the state where the crime is committed. 
In case the crime is not committed in any of the states, 
Congress has power to name a suitable place. When the 
Constitution was before the people for adoption, the objec- 
tion was made that there was not enough emphasis put on 
jury trial, and not sufficient safeguard against unjust prose- 



22 2 THE NATION 

cutions; so amendments giving the necessary protection 
were offered and ratified during the first Congress. 

It is necessary, in this connection, to consider four of the 
amendments to the Constitution which relate to the judicial 
system. These and other like amendments have been 
called our " Bill of Rights." They relate to proceedings 
only in the federal courts. 

Amendment V. — No person shall be held to answer for a cap- 
ital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indict- 
ment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval 
forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or 
public danger ; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense 
to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled 
in any criminal case to be a witness against himself; nor be deprived 
of life, liberty, or properly, without due process of law; nor shall 
private properly be taken for public use, without just compensation. 

The Grand Jury. — The grand jury is selected by the 
court, and is composed of not less than twelve responsible 
citizens. It is the duty of this jury to make a faithful in- 
quiry into all wrongs and violations of the law. The jury 
has a right to call witnesses before it and make a thorough 
investigation. If, after the investigation, it has reason to 
believe that the person accused is guilty, it returns an in- 
dictment marked " True Bill." If it believes the person 
is not guilty, it indicates the same by writing " Not a True 
Bill." It is the duty of the grand jury to make complete 
and independent investigations of all violations of the law ; 
and if it finds offenses that justify action, it may make what 
is called a presentment, an accusation based upon evidence, 
which may thereupon be followed by an indictment, and 
this in turn by a trial. The court usually gives the grand 
jury instructions concerning its duty, and may call its 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 2 23 

attention to special and notorious offenses. The proceed- 
ings of a grand jury are secret. In fact, the oath the juror 
takes binds him to secrecy. With a few exceptions, which 
are given in the Constitution, no person can be tried unless 
he has been indicted by a grand jury. 

The Petit Jury. — A jury for the trial of a case should 
have these requisites : it should be composed of upright, 
well-qualified men, who are disinterested and impartial, 
who are of no kin or personal dependency of or on either of 
the parties to the suit, whose homes are within the jurisdic- 
tional limits of the court, who have been drawn and selected 
by officers free from all bias in favor of or against either 
party, and who have been duly impaneled under the direc- 
tion of competent court, and sworn to render a true verdict 
according to the law and the evidence given them. After 
hearing the evidence and receiving the instructions of the 
court relative to the law involved in the trial, they are 
asked to return their unanimous verdict upon the issue 
submitted. The procedure of getting a jury for trial 
in a federal court is similar to that in a state court. 
The laws and methods of the state are observed in this 
matter. 

Second Trial. — No person can be tried the second time 
for the same offense unless the accused, after conviction, re- 
quests a new trial on account of an error of law committed 
during the trial. The request would be in his own interest, 
and granting a new trial would not be contrary to consti- 
tutional authority. If the jury fails to agree, the trial con- 
tinues until a verdict is reached. 

Infamous Crime. — Authorities do not agree on what is 
an infamous crime. Justice Cooley said : " The punish- 
ment of the penitentiary must always be deemed infamous, 



2 24 THE NATION 

and so must any punishment that involves the loss of 
civil or political privileges." 

Other Rights of Citizens. — No person can be compelled 
in any criminal case to be a witness against himself ; nor 
can his life, liberty, or property be taken away from him 
without due process of law. The government cannot take 
private property for public use without giving just com- 
pensation to the private owner of the property. 

Amendment VI. — In all criminal prosecutions, the accused 
shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial 
jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been com- 
mitted, which district shall have been previously ascertained by 
law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; 
to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory 
process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assist- 
ance of counsel for his defense. 

Rights of the Accused Citizen. — The accused shall have 
a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of twelve 
men from his own neighborhood, and the verdict must be 
unanimous. Each side may challenge jurors for cause, as 
may be done in the courts of the state in which the federal 
court is trying a citizen, and a limited number of veniremen 
may be rejected without giving cause. The accused in a 
criminal suit is indicted and must be given time to get 
counsel, to summon and compel witnesses to come to his 
aid, and must be confronted with the evidence of those 
against him. If the accused is too poor to hire counsel, the 
court appoints one to defend him. All this safeguards the 
liberty of any man falsely accused, and provides a fair trial 
and justice for the guilty. In the selection of juries there 
is at present great waste of time and money ; too much 
delay is caused by attorneys and allowed by the courts, to 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 225 

inspire confidence in the machinery of justice. This is not 
as bad in the federal as in the state courts, but should be 
corrected in both. 

Amendment VII. — In suits at common law, where the value in 
controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall 
be preserved, and no fact tried by jury shall be otherwise reexamined 
in any court of the United States than according to the rules of the 
common law. 

Suits at Common Law. — This amendment is the result 
of the desire of the people to guard their property rights 
through the decisions of an impartial jury, as it was believed 
that Section 2, Clause 3 authorized the Supreme Court to 
review the decision of a jury in mere civil cases. Federal 
suits, representing a value in controversy exceeding twenty 
dollars, must be tried by a jury. The language is so clear 
no explanation is needed. The term " common law " is 
used in contradistinction from equity, maritime, and ad- 
miralty business, and means the common or unwritten law 
of England which recognized only two methods of re- 
examining facts tried by jury; viz., the granting of a new 
trial by the court before which the issue was tried, and by a 
writ of error. 

Amendment VIII. — Excessive bail shall not be required nor 
excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments 
inflicted. 

This is taken from the English Bill of Rights of 1689, an d 
no explanation of the language is needed. What would be 
excessive bail, or an excessive fine, is left to the court, and 
the kind of punishment is prescribed by law. When in 
iqc8 Judge Kenesaw Landis, of the district court at Chicago, 
ordered a fine totaling over $29,000,000, on the Standard 



2 26 THE NATION 

Oil Company, one of the contentions in the appeal was that 
it was an excessive tine. The fine was annulled, however, 
on other grounds by a higher court. 

Coming back now to the regular analysis of the Consti- 
tution where we left it to consider the amendments relating 
to judicial matters, we have in Article III : — 

Sec. 3, Clause i. — Treason against the United States shall 
consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their 
enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be con- 
victed of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same 
overt act, or on confession in open court. 

Treason. — This is a summary of a few of the articles that 
the English Parliament passed on the same subject during 
the reign of Edward III. Treason is a crime committed for 
the purpose of overthrowing the government. It is the 
highest crime that a citizen can commit against civil society 
and deserves the severest punishment. Only persons owing 
allegiance to the government can be traitors to the govern- 
ment. For a long time in England it was left with judges 
to define treason ; but this led to despotism and tyranny on 
the part of both king and judges, and many innocent lives 
were taken. 

Definition of treason. — The Constitution defines treason 
as consisting in " levying war against the United States and 
adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort." 
John Marshall, in speaking of levying war, said : " If a 
body of men be actually assembled for the purpose of effect- 
ing by force a treasonable purpose, all those who perform 
any part, however minute, or however remote from the 
scene of action, and who are actually leagued in the general 
conspiracy, are to be considered as traitors. But there 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 227 

must be an actual assembling of men for the treasonable 
purpose to constitute a levying of war." Giving aid and 
comfort consists in aiding the traitors in their efforts to 
overthrow the government by furnishing them provisions, 
horses, cannon, or ammunition ; in short, giving them any 
aid that would assist them in accomplishing their purpose 
against the government. 

Sec. 3, Clause 2. — The Congress shall have power to declare 
the punishment of treason; but no attainder of treason shall work 
corruption of blood, or forfeiture, except during the life of the person 
attainted. 

The punishment of treason. — The Constitution provides 
that Congress has the power to declare the punishment for 
treason. The present punishment is death ; or, in minor 
cases, if the court so desires, it may sentence the accused 
to hard labor in prison for five years, with a fine of not less 
than ten thousand dollars, and disqualify him from voting. 

Attainder of Treason. — According to the common law, 
corruption of blood and forfeiture of property followed con- 
viction of treason. The Constitution prevents injustice of 
this kind. Judge Story throws light upon this question in 
the following words : — 

" By corruption of blood all inheritable qualities are de- 
stroyed ; so that an attainted person can neither inherit lands nor 
other hereditaments from his ancestors, nor retain those he is 
already in possession of, nor transmit them to any heir. And 
this destruction of all inheritable qualities is so complete that it 
obstructs all descents to his posterity, whenever they are obliged 
to derive a title through him to any estate of a remoter ances- 
tor. So that if a father commits treason, and is attainted 
and suffers death, and then the grandfather dies, his grandson 
cannot inherit any estate fron\ his grandfather; for he must 



228 THE NATION 

claim through his father, who would convey to him no inheritable 
blood. ... In addition to this most grievous disability, the 
person attainted forfeits, by the common law, all his lands, and 
tenements, and rights of entry, and rights of profits in the' lands 
or tenements, which he possesses. And this forfeiture relates 
back to the time of the treason committed, so as to avoid all 
intermediate sales and incumbrances; and he also forfeits all his 
goods and chattels from the time of his conviction." 

In the United States the punishment imposed for treason 
pertains alone to the guilty participants, and they are 
assured justice by being tried by a tribunal authorized and 
appointed by Congress. 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

Andrews : Manual of the Constitution, 201-230. 

Baldwin : The American Judiciary, chs. I- VI. 

Beard : American Government and Politics, ch, XV. 

Bryce: The American Commonwealth (3d ed.), 228-260. 

Fish: The Development of American Nationality, 128-133. 

Forman: Advanced Civics, 147-161. 

Garner : Government of the United States, ch. XVIII. 

Garner : Introduction to Political Science, chs. Ill, X. 

Guitteau : Government and Politics, ch. XXVIII. 

Hart : Actual Government, ch. XVII. 

Hinsdale: American Government (4th ed.), 292-322. 

Johnston and Woodburn : American Political History, 70-207. 

Kaye : Readings in Civil Government, 243-259. 

Reinsch: Readings on the American Federal Government, ch. 
VIII. 

Wilson: Constitutional Government in the United States, 142- 
172. 

Source Material and Supplementary Aids. — Public Document 
No. 475. Any special decisions of the Supreme Court which may be 
had from the clerk of the court at Washington, or by request of your 
congressman. 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 229 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. Why is a federal judiciary absolutely necessary? 

2. Name the different federal courts. Name the judges of the 
Supreme Court. (See Congressional Directory.) 

3. How is the country divided for judicial purposes? In what 
circuit do you live? Name states comprising it and judge of that 
circuit. 

4. Who is your district court judge? When and where does he 
hold court? What is the principal work of the district court? 

5. What is the duty of a United States district attorney? Of 
a United States marshal ? Who holds those positions in your state ? 

6. What is meant by " constitutional " and " unconstitutional " ? 
The courts may almost make our laws. How ? Should they ? 

7. Should the Supreme Court ever reverse itself? Should dis- 
senting minority opinions be given ? Why ? 

8. Define the principal duties of each kind of federal court. 

9. When and why are juries used in federal courts? 

10. When may one appeal from state to federal courts? 

n. Is it wise to let judges sit upon the Supreme bench after the 
age of seventy? Why? 

12. Federal judges can only be removed by impeachment. Would 
a quicker, easier method be better ? Why ? 

QUESTION FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That all federal judges should be elected by the people 
for a short term of years. 



CHAPTER XIV 

INTERSTATE RELATIONS AND RELATIONS BETWEEN 
THE NATION AND THE STATES 

Article IV, Section i . — Full faith and credit shall be given in 
each State to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of 
every other State. And the Congress may, by general laws, prescribe 
the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be 
proved and the effect thereof. 

Full Faith and Credit. — " Full faith and credit " means 
that the same credit which a state itself gives to its public 
acts, records, and judicial proceedings must be given it by 
other states when properly proved. The public acts are 
the laws made by the state legislature. The records are 
all those authorized by law, including real estate records 
and legislative journals. Judicial proceedings are the judg- 
ments, orders, and proceedings of the courts. For example, 
if a person is sued in Kentucky, and a judgment is obtained 
against him, it may be enforced should he go into 
another state. This can be done by simply proving that 
a judgment was rendered against him. Congress has by 
law prescribed the methods of proving the records, acts, 
and proceedings by another state. Legislative acts are 
made authentic by being stamped with the state seal ; 
court records, through the signature of the clerk and judge, 
and sometimes by a court seal. 

Sec. 2, Clause i. ■ — The citizens of each State shall be entitled 
to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States. 

230 



INTERSTATE RELATIONS 23 1 

Rights of Citizens. — If a citizen living in one state moves 
into another, he is entitled to all the privileges enjoyed by 
the citizens of that state. He is, of course, subject to the 
law and local regulations of the new state, and he has no 
right to use the law of his former state as a rule for his 
conduct. The Constitution guarantees to every citizen in 
the Union the enjoyment of these rights. The privileges 
and immunities referred to are those fundamental in their 
character, such as the right to life, liberty, labor, and 
equality before the law. The right to vote is not embraced 
in this phrase. A citizen, prior to 1868, was not defined, 
and the question of free negroes caused trouble frequently. 
Amendment XIV makes clear who is a citizen. 

Sec. 2, Clause 2. — A person charged in any State with treason, 
felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found 
in another State, shall, on demand of the executive authority of the 
State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State 
having jurisdiction of the crime. 

Fugitive Criminals. — The authority of the state ceases 
beyond its boundary. The officer of one state has no right 
to go into another state and arrest a criminal. Neither has 
the state to which the criminal flees the power to try him 
for a crime committed in another state. When a person 
charged with a crime in one state flees into another, the 
executive of the state thereof " shall on demand from the 
executive authority of the state from which he fled" deliver 
him to the state having jurisdiction over the crime. States 
have power only to try crimes committed against their own 
laws. Without the constitutional protection offered in this 
clause, each state would be an asylum for criminals, and 
society would be subjected to great wrongs and many in- 
justices. By treaty agreements, different nations surrender 



232 THE NATION 

criminals to each other under an arrangement known as 
" extradition." The same term is used between our states 
for the surrender of fugitives from justice. 

Steps in the Return of a Fugitive from Justice. — i. The 
governor of the state where the crime is committed makes 
requisition, based on affidavit or indictment distinctly 
charging the crime committed, on the governor of the state 
to which the criminal flees. 

2. If the fugitive is arrested before the requisition is 
made, it is the duty of the governor of the state to which the 
accused has fled to order the fugitive turned over to the 
agents of the governor of the state having jurisdiction. If 
the fugitive has not been arrested at the time the requisi- 
tion is made, it becomes the duty of the chief executive 
of the state to which the fugitive has fled to order his arrest 
and to deliver him to the agents of the state making this 
requisition. 

3. The fugitive is taken back to the state having juris- 
diction of his crime and is tried. 

4. The person so arrested may at any time apply for 
a writ of habeas corpus to test whether he is lawfully held. 

The above is the regular method of procedure. Some- 
times the governor of the state in which the arrest is made 
personally hears evidence before he honors the requisition. 
Whether he remands the prisoner to the state from which 
he is a fugitive is largely a matter of courtesy. The lan- 
guage of the Constitution is clearly mandatory, but it 
has no specifications of enforcement or penalty for non- 
enforcement. Hence the governor of no state can be forced 
to return a fugitive should he choose to protect him. Gov- 
ernors have occasionally refused to honor requisitions, 
giving as a reason for their actions the doubtfulness of 



INTERSTATE RELATIONS 233 

a fair trial to the accused. But this action seems a vio- 
lation of both the spirit and letter of the federal Constitu- 
tion, since it allows the executive of a state to be, in a sense, 
also a judicial officer sitting in judgment on matters that 
properly come before the judiciary of another state, and of 
which he may know little. 

Sec. 2, Clause 3. — Xo person held to service or labor in one- 
State, tinder the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in conse- 
quence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such 
service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to 
whom such service or labor may be due. 

This clause was made a part of the Constitution in the 
interest of slaveholders. Historically, it was the basis 
of the fugitive slave laws which were among the clearly 
defined causes of the Civil War. Since this war, the clause 
has become obsolete. 

Clauses 1 and 2, Section 3, of Article IV, deal with a 
new subject of an entirely different nature, and are treated 
in Chapter XV. 

Sec. 4. — The United States shall guarantee to every State 
in this Union a republican form of government, and shall protect 
each of them against invasion ; and on application of the Legisla- 
ture, or of the executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) 
against domestic violence. 

The Nation aids the State. — It is obvious that since 
the United States was to be a republic, the states composing 
the Union must also be republican in nature. The states 
are forbidden to keep a regular army or navy. They are 
thus thrown upon the federal government for protection, 
and the President is authorized to protect them with the 
army and navy against invasion. In case of insurrection, 



234 THE NATION 

or domestic violence beyond the control of the local authori- 
ties, the governor of a state sends the militia to the scene 
of disorder. If this should fail to restore peace, the legis- 
lature or the governor may call upon the President for help. 
This has been done frequently since the formation of the 
Union, as, for example, in quelling the Whisky Insurrection, 
in Pennsylvania, in 1794; the suppression of disorder at 
the time of the great strikes in the same state in 1877 ; 
and the restoration of order in Colorado in 19 14. The 
language seems clearly to mean that the federal government 
must not interfere with a state, unless called upon. 

The Nation may quell Disturbances in States. — It is 
right and in harmony with local self-government that the 
federal authorities should not interfere until called on ; 
but when it becomes clear that a state is not doing its duty, 
and that the federal laws are being violated, then the 
national government must enforce the law without regard 
to the action of the state. An example of this grew out of 
the Chicago riots in 1894, when mail cars were obstructed, 
even destroyed, and interstate commerce was greatly 
injured. President Cleveland sent troops from the regu- 
lar army there, against the protest of the governor of Illinois, 
to enforce the federal law and establish peace. The Su- 
preme Court later upheld this action, saying in substance 
that while the United States government is one of enumer- 
ated powers, yet it has, within the limits of those powers, 
all the attributes of sovereignty, and has jurisdiction every- 
where over its territory and over each citizen. 

States and Federal Relations. — It has been seen in the 
foregoing that the relations between the federal and state 
governments are very close. There is generally a clear 
line of distinction in nearly all matters, but on some issues 



INTERSTATE RELATIONS 235 

this distinction is not so evident. There has never been 
any real sovereignty in the United States in its fullest 
sense, since both the federal government and the states 
are limited. The question of what the duties of a state are, 
and what those of the federal government are, is constantly 
before the people. These duties should be such as to serve 
as checks on each other, and yet be in harmony and accord. 
Each must keep its sphere to which it is clearly denned ; 
when in dispute, an arbitral power is provided for in the 
federal courts, whose rulings must be obeyed. The tend- 
ency has recently been to increase the powers of the federal 
government ; but this will decrease if the state will insist 
on its rights to settle questions local to it and act in accord- 
ance with its rights ; should it prove unequal to the occasion, 
the federal government must assist. 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

Bryce : The American Commonwealth ( 3d ed.), I, 325-341. 

Forman: Advanced Civics, 55-61. 

Garner : Government in the United States, ch. III. 

Hinsdale : The American Government (4th ed.), 323-340. 

James and Sanford : Government in State and Nation, rev. ed., 
ch. XXX. 

Wilson: Constitutional Government in the United States, 173- 
197. 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. What does " full faith and credit " between states mean? 

2. What are the rights of the citizens of the several states? 

3. How are fugitive criminals returned? What option has a 
governor of a state in the matter ? 

4. How is a republican form of government guaranteed ? 

5. When may the federal government interfere in a state ? 



CHAPTER XV 
TERRITORIES, AND PUBLIC LANDS 

Article IV, Sec. 3, Clause 1. — New States may be admitted 
by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed 
or erected within the jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State 
be formed by the junction of two or more States, or parts of States, 
without the consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as 
well as of the Congress. 

Early Colonial Charters and Land Disputes. — When 
the first colonies were organized and charters given 
them, grants of territory were given with little knowl- 
edge of what was granted, and without regard to 
prior grants or claims, or care for future results. Early 
charters of some of the colonies granted territory west- 
ward to the South Sea (Pacific Ocean) ; but no charter 
claims were ever made to areas west of the Mississippi. 
Virginia's charter of 1609 extended two hundred miles 
north and south of Old Point Comfort, " up into the land 
throughout from sea to sea west and northwest." The 
Massachusetts charter of 1629 and the Connecticut charter 
both covered parts of Virginia's claim. New York claimed 
land to the west, in territory more or less definitely bounded 
between Lake Erie and the Kentucky River, on the ground 
of jurisdiction over the Six Nations of Indians. The 
Carolinas and Georgia also had western claims, under 
early charters. Massachusetts, through her charter of 
1 69 1, and Connecticut were, however, the only colonies 
that could really lay any legal claim to western lands, 

236 



AND PUBLIC LANDS 237 

since the charters of the other colonies had been revoked. 
The question of holding or using this land amounted to 
little up to the time of the Revolution. After the colonies 
had thrown off the British yoke and had organized as 
states, they saw the importance to themselves of deter- 
mining their boundaries anew. During the Revolution, 
George Rogers Clark conceived the idea of driving the 
British from the region between the Ohio and the Great 
Lakes in order to put an end to the Indian incursions 
against Kentucky, and got permission and aid from Virginia 
to do so. Clark captured the British forts in that region 
during 1778 and 1779, and Virginia, on her claim to the 
land through her annulled charter of 1609, and through 
this conquest, claimed the whole of the Old Northwest. 

Waiving Land Claims. — Virginia's claims, more than 
anything else, started a long controversy which entered 
vitally into the question of adopting the Articles of Confed- 
eration and the establishment of a national government. 
Some of the states having definitely settled boundaries, 
and hence no land claims, objected vigorously to the vari- 
ous claims of their sister states. In 1780 Congress prom- 
ised that all new lands should be opened for the benefit 
of the United States, and should be " formed into distinct 
republican states which shall become members of the federal 
union." In the meantime, Maryland had been stubbornly 
deferring the adoption of the Articles of Confederation, 
demanding that the states having western claims should 
cede them to the general government, since lands taken 
in war belonged to the nation as a whole. The states 
having the land claims began to cede them to the general 
government in 1781, the last one to do so being Georgia 
in 1802. Maryland at length ratified the Articles of 



238 THE NATION 

Confederation, which accordingly went into effect on March 
1, 1781. 

In the cession of territory in the Northwest, two of the 
claimant states retained small districts as lands for their 
soldiers ; namely, the Virginia Military Reserve in southern 
Ohio, and the Western Reserve of Connecticut in northern 
Ohio. The district of Vermont, claimed by three states, 
was allowed to come into the Union (1791) as the first 
state after the adoption of the Constitution ; Kentucky, 
which was part of Virginia, was permitted by Virginia to 
enter (1792) as the second; Tennessee, a territory ceded 
by North Carolina, came in as the third (1796). Thus 
was this troublesome question satisfactorily settled, and 
in the cession of these claims was the origin of the so-called 
public domain. 

Action of Congress on Lands under the Confederation. — 
The Congress under the Confederation proposed to sell 
the disputed lands, even before they were ceded, in order 
to obtain revenue to carry on the war and pay the govern- 
ment's debts. The policy of selling these lands to land 
companies who exploited them for profit instead of recog- 
nizing that they rightly belonged to the people of the 
country for homesteads, prevailed for a long time. More- 
over, under the laws of the thirteen colonies, no regular 
surveying system existed and hence a great deal of confusion 
resulted. But in 1785, an act was passed providing for 
a survey of western domain on a systematic plan known as 
the rectangular system. Certain meridians were definitely 
specified as principal meridians and certain parallels as base 
lines which, of course ? cross the meridians at right angles. 
From the given base lines, parallels were run six miles apart. 
These parallels, crossed at right angles by meridians at the 



TERRITORIES, AND PUBLIC LANDS 



239 



RANGES WEST R. EAST 

V IV III II I I II III 



4, N. 
V, W 



RV 



2, S. 

IV. w. 



?ECT|ION 



LINE 



2, N. 

Ill, W. 



RIII 
BASE 



RI 
W 



R I 

E 



2, S, 
I, E 



3, N. 
II, E, 



RII 

LINE 



- O 

♦ I 

to 



2 O 

* H 
X 
1 



same distances, cut the land into townships six miles square. 
These are numbered in tiers from the principal meridian, as, 
Range 1 East, and 
Range 1 West. 
Starting at the base 
lines, the townships 
are numbered 1, 2, 
3, 4, 5, 6, etc., both 
north and south of 
the base line ; and 
east and west from 
the principal merid- 
ian. Owing to the 
gradual converging 
of meridians, a 
correction base line is made at every twenty-four miles. 
The illustration explains the system briefly. 

As will be seen, it is easy to locate definitely any partic- 
ular township by a description according to this scheme ; 
e.g., Township 2 North, Range III West. 

One Mile Sq uare 



1 « 
- o 

c 

2 H 

X 



RANGES AND TOWNSHIPS 





Six 


vliles Square 




6 


5 


4 


3 


2 


1 


7 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


18 


17 


16 


15 


14 


13 


19 


20 


21 


22 


23 


24 


30 


29 


28 


27 


26 


25 


31 


32 


33 


34 


35 


36 



\ of Section 



s. w. !4 



N.w.yi 



S. 1 ^OF 



N.E.A 



N.E.1/4 



S. E. 1 / 4 



The numbering of 
sections in a township 



Divisions of a section 



But the division into townships was not sufficient, hence 
the townships in turn were divided into sections of 640 acres 



240 THE NATION 

each, and each section into quarter sections. This system 
has worked admirably. Many disputes have been avoided 
by this simple land description. The diagrams given show 
how land is located and described in sections and parts 
of a section. 

The Ordinance of 1787. — This ordinance was passed 
under the Confederation for the government of the Territory 
northwest of the Ohio River, which was our first organized 
territory. Among its notable provisions was one forbid- 
ding slavery in the territory, and another providing that 
education should be encouraged. 

Land Grants under the Constitution. — 1. Land Sales. — 
After the adoption of the Constitution many laws regulating 
public land sales were passed. In 1800 the present system 
of having registers in the district where lands are for sale 
was inaugurated, with offices where the records of all sales 
of lands are kept. Preemption laws soon followed, giving 
a settler preference over a speculator. This was a great 
help to home builders. At first the government sold its 
land at $2, then later, at $1.25 an acre, the lower price 
coming in 1820, which date marks a new era in land sales; 
however, little revenue was brought in until after 1830. 
In 1862 in response to increasing public sentiment, a home- 
stead law was passed. This law gave 160 acres of public 
land almost free to any American citizen agreeing to live 
upon it and improve it. In 1909 the government increased 
the homesteads in the arid districts to 320 acres. The 
homestead act is still in force, and has worked admirably. 
It is the true American policy, one that should have been 
adopted earlier so as to have aided citizens of our country, 
rather than to operate for the benefit of land companies 
and corporations. 



TERRITORIES, AND PUBLIC LANDS 24 1 

The public land question was affected by the number of 
immigrants. These immigrants, on account of the vast 
area of cheap land, and because of their inability to compete 
with slave labor, settled in the West. Hence the public 
domain, prior to i860, became involved with the question 
of slavery, and the extension of slavery, in many instances 
when a new area was presented for formal organization into 
a territory, and again when the territory was ready for 
statehood. 

2. Railroad and Canal Grants. — When a territory be- 
came a state, the federal government retained possession 
of the public land within its limits, and the newly made 
state had to promise not to interfere with the government's 
sale of such land. However, the federal government has 
granted public lands liberally to the states for various 
interests, especially for school purposes. In 1802, Con- 
gress first granted lands for public improvements when it 
voted Ohio one twentieth of the net sales of lands in that 
territory for roads when it was ready to become a state. 
A great deal of land was given by the national government 
to aid in the furtherance of canals in various parts of the 
country, and in 1850 it began to do the same for railroads. 
In 1850 Congress gave alternate sections of land to the 
state of Illinois, which later sold them to the Illinois Central 
Railroad for a small consideration. This was done with 
many railroads, until, in all, at least 180,000,000 acres 
were practically given away. This often led to serious 
abuse and fraud. 

3. Reservations. — Numerous reservations of public land 
have been made by the government, some of which are 
still held for the benefit of the Indians, while others have 
been converted into parks, as the Yellowstone National 



242 THE NATION 

Park. Under an act of 1873, 9,000,000 acres were given 
away to settlers who would agree to plant and care for trees. 
From 1891 to 1903, 47,000,000 acres were set aside for 
forest reserves, and to this area are constantly being added 
timber, coal, and ore lands. The government itself has 
gone into the irrigation business. 

Conservation of Resources. — The report of the Public 
Land Commission shows that down to June 30, 1904, the 
United States (including Alaska) had disposed of 1,809,539,- 
840 acres of land for various purposes, including reserves 
for conservation of natural resources. On June 30, 1909, 
the total area of unappropriated public land (including 
Alaska), as shown by the report of the General Land Office, 
was 731,354,080 acres. At present there is a great demand 
that the public land, wherever it contains timber, mineral, 
or water useful for irrigation, be held by the nation for future 
use, to be developed as the government may decide. Also, 
demands are being made that forests under national control 
be reset and cared for all over the country, in lands bought 
by the government for that purpose. The acquisition and 
ownership of timber, mineral lands, streams, and water sites 
within states by the national government, have caused 
various questions to arise concerning federal and state 
authority. Federal reservations often retard and check 
developments in a state and thus tend to retard its growth. 
On the other hand, states have often allowed exploitation 
of lands given them by the national government in ways 
that were of little benefit to their citizens, and small credit 
to themselves. 

How a Territory becomes a State. — So far it has been 
shown how the United States came into possession of the 
public lands, claimed by the original colonies in the regions 



TERRITORIES, AND PUBLIC LANDS 243 

east of the Mississippi ; also a hint given as to how these 
lands were organized. By various additions through cession, 
purchase, and conquest, the national domain has reached 
its present boundaries in contiguous territory. As rapidly 
as settlers went to the frontier lands, territorial organiza- 
tion followed. Congress assumed complete control over 
a territory's affairs and determined its admission to state- 
hood according to its will. No fixed rule was ever made as 
to the size of the territory or the population required for 
admission as a state. Generally Congress has passed an 
enabling act, authorizing a territory to apply for statehood, 
whereupon the territory has framed a constitution and 
submitted it to Congress for approval. Sometimes, how- 
ever, the territory has first adopted a constitution and 
submitted it to Congress, asking for admission. Texas 
was admitted by a joint resolution of Congress, with a 
proviso that the territory should, at the will of that body, 
and with its own consent, be subdivided into five states ; 
but this was never done. The only time the proviso 
" no new state shall be formed or erected within the juris- 
diction of any other state without the consent of its legis- 
lature " was ever violated, was in the creation of West 
Virginia. Its admission in 1863, without the consent of 
Virginia, through questionable constitutional methods, 
was allowed to stand as a war measure. 

Sec. 3, Clause 2. — The Congress shall have power to dis- 
pose of, and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the 
territory or other property belonging to the United States; and noth- 
ing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any 
claims of the United States, or of any particular State. 

Acquiring New Territory. — The Constitution nowhere 
specifically provided for the acquisition of new lands. It 



244 THE NATION 

was argued at the time of the Louisiana purchase that the 
section and clause, last quoted, related only to territory 
already owned when the new government was organized. 
But any nation may exercise any power that belongs to 
it as a sovereign state for its defense, and to promote its 
general welfare; hence it may also acquire territory. 
While the decisions of the Supreme Court have not always 
been consistent concerning the government of acquired 
territory, the Supreme Court has been very specific and 
clear in its assertion that the Union may acquire territory 
by conquest or treaty. 

Government and Representation of a Territory. — The 
people of the regular territories were governed largely by 
the President, who with the consent of the Senate, appointed 
the chief administrative officers. The territories had their 
own elective legislatures of two houses to legislate for local 
affairs, but their laws were under the supervision of Con- 
gress. A delegate, who might debate, but had no vote, 
was elected from each territory to Congress. All contiguous 
territory of the United States is now in the Union under 
state control. 

Hawaii. — This group of islands, annexed in 1898, is 
governed by an act of Congress passed in 1900. The gov- 
ernment is practically the same as was found in the regu- 
lar continental territories. The federal Constitution, and 
such laws of Congress as are not locally inapplicable, are 
extended to the territory. The President appoints a gov- 
ernor and a secretary for four years ; also several judges. 
Among leading executive officers are a treasurer, auditor, 
attorney-general, and superintendent of public instruction ; 
all of these officers are appointed by the governor of Hawaii. 
The legislature, elected by the people, is composed of two 



TERRITORIES, AND PUBLIC LANDS 245 

houses : the senate having fifteen members, and the house 
thirty. The legislature's acts are subject to the veto 
powers of the governor, and may also be modified or an- 
nulled by Congress. Hawaii elects a delegate to Con- 
gress every two years, who may debate but not vote. 

Alaska. — Alaska is now an organized territory, with its 
capital at Juneau, and the Constitution and laws of the 
United States are extended over it. Congress enacted a 
complete code of criminal laws for Alaska in 1898, and a 
new civil code in 1900, and 191 2. The territorial legislature 
has two houses ; a senate, which has eight members, two 
each from four judicial divisions in the territory, with a 
four-year term, one half being elected every two years ; and 
a house of sixteen members, four from each judicial division, 
for a term of two years. Both houses are elected by the 
people. They meet biennially, in a sixty-day session, and in 
their organization, duties, and procedure, are similar to all 
former territorial legislatures. The laws enacted by the 
legislature must be submitted to Congress by the President, 
and if disapproved by Congress, are null and void. The 
governor, surveyor-general, district attorney, railroad com- 
mission, and judges of Alaska, are all appointed by the 
President. Communities of over three hundred have 
local self-government. By an act of Congress, 1914, 
looking to the internal development of Alaska, the Presi- 
dent is intrusted with an appropriation fund of $35,000,000 
to purchase or build railroads from the interior of the coun- 
try to the coast, such railroads to be under the control of 
the federal government. 

Insular Colonial Territories. — The Spanish- American 
War in 1898, caused by Spanish misrule in Cuba, suddenly 
brought us into colonial control almost without thought, cer- 



246 THE NATION 

tainly not through our seeking or by our choice. Through 
the exigencies of war the government of the United States 
incurred responsibilities from which it could not shrink. 

The Philippines. — These islands and islets, about 
thirty-one hundred in number, were ceded to the United 
States by Spain through the treaty closing the Spanish- 
American War in 1898. All islands of any consequence 
are now under civil government ; in some places, like 
parts of Mindanao and Sulu, most of the civil offices, includ- 
ing the governorship, are filled by military officers. With 
the inauguration of a new governor-general in 19 13, a new 
policy was adopted toward the Filipinos. They have 
been intrusted with more of their own government, and 
promised ultimate independence. Of the Philippine Com- 
mission, which serves at once as the central government 
and as an upper chamber or senate, the Filipinos, hitherto 
in a minority, will in the future have six of the nine commis- 
sioners. Instead of having Americans only at the heads 
of departments, such as the bureau of lands, and secre- 
taries of finance, and the interior, to assist the governor- 
general who is chief executive and president of the commis- 
sion, as was formerly the case, natives are now intrusted with 
some of these important posts. There is also a lower elective 
representative assembly, chosen from among the natives. 

For government purposes the islands are divided into 
thirty-eight provinces, each with an elective native gov- 
ernor, except in a few non-Christian isles where the gov- 
ernor is appointed by the governor-general. Municipal 
government has been instituted in about six hundred 
fifty towns. Two resident commissioners, appointed by 
the Filipino assembly, reside at Washington, and are 
called upon by government officials in matters relating 



AND PUBLIC LANDS 247 

to the islands, but they have legally neither a seat nor a 
vote in Congress. The House of Representatives, through 
courtesy, allows them to attend sessions and sometimes 
even to serve upon committees. The last census of the 
Philippines taken in 1903 shows a population of 7,635,426. 

Porto Rico. — The island of Porto Rico was ceded to the 
United States in December, 1898, and is, in government, 
similar to the Philippines, a partly organized territory. 
A plan for its government, since slightly amended twice, 
was adopted for the island in 1900. Under it the Porto 
Ricans have a representative government. The governor, 
secretary, attorney-general, treasurer, auditor, commis- 
sioner of interior, commissioner of education, and five 
native citizens, are appointed by the President for four 
years, and with the exception of the governor, they comprise 
a council or upper chamber. The house of delegates is 
composed of thirty-five members elected every two years. 
These are the regular territorial courts which are discussed 
elsewhere. The people choose a resident commissioner to 
the United States. Porto Rico is not an integral part of 
the United States, but belongs to it, according to Supreme 
Court decisions ; the people are only citizens of Porto 
Rico and not of the United States ; the Constitution applies 
to Porto Rico only as Congress directs, which, of course, 
means that the people of Porto Rico can become citizens 
of the United States only when Congress so wills. The 
island has free trade with the United States, and its own 
internal revenue system. 

Minor Acquisitions and Dependencies. — The Canal 
Zone, Guam, and Samoa are the principal minor depend- 
encies of the United States, with some form of simple 
government. Besides these, the United States owns a 



248 THE NATION 

few very small isles in the Pacific Ocean : Baker, Howland, 
Midway, Wake, and others, all practically uninhabited, 
hence requiring no government. 

The Canal Zone. — By an act of 191 2, the zone of land 
five miles on each side of the center line of the route of the 
Panama Canal, excluding the cities of Panama and Colon, 
is designated as the Canal Zone. Congress authorized 
the President to discontinue the commission by which the 
zone was formerly governed whenever he should deem it 
advisable; accordingly, this was done in 1914. Instead 
of the commission, the control is now vested by the Presi- 
dent in a civil governor, a court elsewhere mentioned, and 
such other persons as the President may designate. The 
cities of Colon and Panama, while still belonging to the 
state of Panama, are under the complete jurisdiction of 
the United States as far as sanitation and quarantine are 
concerned. The United States acquired the Canal Zone 
from the Republic of Panama by treaty upon the payment 
of $10,000,000 and the further payment, beginning 1913, 
of $250,000 a year forever. 

Guam. — This is really only a naval station, the island 
having only two hundred square miles. The commandant of 
the naval station is also, by appointment of the President, 
governor of the island. In 1908 the population was 11,490. 

Samoa. — Great Britain, Germany, and the United States 
formerly had a tripartite government over the Samoa Isles ; 
but this was dissolved in 1900. By the treaty then agreed 
to the United States secured three small isles, the only 
important one being Tutuila, which has a good harbor and 
contains fifty-four square miles. It is a naval station, pre- 
sided over by a commandant who is appointed by the 
President, and who also acts as governor. 



TERRITORIES, AND PUBLIC LANDS 249 

Cuba. — The island of Cuba does not belong to the 
United States, but there is practically an American pro- 
tectorate over it. The United States has promised she 
would not annex the island, but in turn required Cuba 
to agree to no treaties with foreign nations endangering 
her independence, to contract no debts for which she had 
no probable revenues, to concede the right of American 
intervention, and to grant the United States naval stations 
upon the island. Cuba agreed to these demands in 1901. 
In 1906 a rebellion broke out and the United States took 
possession of the island until January, 1909. Since that 
date Cuba has managed her own affairs. 



LIBRARY REFERENCES 

Bryce ; The American Commonwealth, I (3d ed.), 350-358; 
578-588. 

Callender : Economic History of the United States, 666-692. 

Channing : Students' History of the United States, rev. ed. (See 
index.) 

Fish : The Development of American Nationality, ch. XXVII. 

Fiske : Critical Period, ch. V. 

Forman: Advanced Civics, 184-193. 

Garner : Government in the United States, ch. XIX. 

Guitteau : Government and Politics, ch. XXXIII. 

Hart: Actual Government, ch. XVIII. 

Hart: Essentials in American History, 180-183; I 9 I_I 93 \ 33 2 ~ 
335;'55i-5°3- 

James and Sanford, Government in State and Nation, rev. ed., 
ch. XXVIII. 

McLaughlin : The American Nation, rev. ed. (See index.) 

Statesman's Year Book : 1910, 1911, and 1912. 

Source Material and Supplementary Aids. — Copies of acts per- 
taining to the government of Hawaii, Porto Rico, and the Philippines. 
Reports of the general land office. 



250 THE NATION 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. Why was so much territory ceded to the general government 
during, and soon following, the Revolution? 

2. Describe the method of surveying used in the West. 

3. By what methods has foreign territory been added to the United 
States? 

4. What was meant by conservation of resources ? 

5. Explain how a territory ordinarily becomes a state. 

6. What is the status of our insular possessions and of Alaska? 
Why forbid citizenship to the insular possessions ? 

7. Why have Americans been largely managing the government 
of Porto Rico and the Philippines? 

QUESTIONS FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That full citizenship should be granted to Porto Ricans 
and the Filipinos. 

Resolved, That the United States should sell or turnover the Philip- 
pines to the people of the islands. 



CHAPTER XVI 

THE SUPREMACY AND RATIFICATION OF THE 
CONSTITUTION 

Article V, dealing wholly with the amending of the 
Constitution, logically belongs last in the discussion and 
will be noted in the next chapter with the amendments. 

I. DEBTS CONTRACTED PREVIOUS TO THE CONSTITUTION 

Article VI, Clause i. — All debts contracted and engagements 
entered into, before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as 
valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the 
Confederation. 

Debts of the Confederation. — The nation was born 
before the Constitution was written. A government had 
been organized, and it sought to form a more perfect union 
and government through the operation of the Continental 
Congress and the government organized under the Articles 
of Confederation. This clause makes the federal govern- 
ment under the new Constitution assume all the debts and 
engagements entered into by the Confederation. Our 
forefathers thus set the seal of disapproval upon the repudia- 
tion of debts and inculcated a deep moral obligation. 

II. THE SUPREMACY OF THE CONSTITUTION 

Article VI, Clause 2. — This Constitution and the laws of the 
United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof ; and all 
treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the 

251 



252 THE NATION 

United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges 
in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution 
or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. 

The Supreme Law of the Land. — The plan of a republic 
gives the people the power to make the supreme law, which 
becomes the authority for the enactment of any federal 
laws, and likewise the authority for making treaties with 
foreign nations. Each state had equal power in the making 
of the organic law of the land, hence it is only right that 
each should fully recognize the sovereign demands and 
requirements of the supreme law which governs all the 
states. This clause declares that the Constitution, and 
the laws and treaties arising thereunder, shall be the supreme 
law of the land; and that the judges of each state shall 
be bound thereby regardless of the state constitution and 
laws. This clause establishes the sovereignty of the na- 
tion, and makes it the duty of the judges of a state to 
declare null and void any state law in conflict with the 
supreme law of the land. Comparatively few laws of 
Congress, only twenty-one, have been declared unconsti- 
tutional by the Supreme Court. Nullification of a federal 
statute by a state has been tried only a few times, and the 
cases occurred prior to the Civil War. It must be clear 
that a treaty of the nation with a foreign power is part of 
this supreme law, and hence that no state may abrogate it. 

III. OATH OF OFFICE 

Article VI, Clause 3. — The senators and representatives before 
mentioned, and the members of the several State legislatures, and all 
executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the 
several States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this 
Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a quali- 
fication to any office or public trust under the United States. 



THE SUPREMACY OF THE CONSTITUTION 253 

Nature of Oath of Office. — Xational senators and repre- 
sentatives, legislators, and the state executive officers of 
the state and of the nation, together with all other agents 
of the government, are required by the Constitution to 
be bound by oath, or affirmation, to support the Constitu- 
tion. The form of oath to be taken was prescribed by 
Congress June 1. 17S9. and is still used. It is similar to 
the one which the President takes, with the name of office 
changed. In view of the close connection of church and 
state in Europe, and the desire to avoid such a connection 
in the United States, no religious test may be required 
as a qualification to office holding. The following oath of 
allegiance, taken by Chief Justice Edward White, Decem- 
ber 19, 1910. illustrates those taken by the judiciary: — 

"I, Edward Douglass White, do solemnly swear that I will 
support and defend the Constitution of the United States 
against all enemies, foreign and domestic ; that I will bear true 
faith and allegiance to the same ; that I take this obligation 
freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, 
and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the 
office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."' 

Following the oath of allegiance came the following pre- 
judicial oath : — 

"I, Edward Douglass White, do solemnly swear that I will 
administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal 
right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and 
impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent on 
me as Chief Justice of the United States according to the best 
of my abilities and understanding, agreeably to the Constitu- 
tion and laws of the United States. So help me God." 



2 54 THE NATION 

IV. RATIFICATION 

Article VII. — The ratification of the conventions of nine States 
shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between 
the States so ratifying the same. 

Before the new Constitution could go into effect it was 
necessary for it to be ratified by nine states — two thirds 
of the whole number. The same number was required to 
transact important business under the Articles of Confed- 
eration. As has been pointed out before, the work of the 
framers of the Constitution was revolutionary ; hence it 
was not bound by precedent. The final paragraph says, 
regarding the action of the convention, " Done in conven- 
tion by the unanimous consent of the states present," 
which was true. However, a few of the delegates present 
refused to sign it. The Constitution, with some sugges- 
tions as to putting it in operation after being ratified, was 
sent to the then existing Congress, which reluctantly sent 
it to the states. By July, 1788, eleven states had accepted 
the new government. Two alone held out, Rhode Island 
and North Carolina, and steps had been taken, mainly of a 
commercial nature, to force them into the new Union. 
By 1790 all the original thirteen states accepted the 
Constitution. 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

Boynton: School Civics, 249-254. 

Channing : Students' History of the United States, 247-252. 
Elson : History of the United States. (See index.) 
Hinsdale : The American Government (4th ed.), 343-351. 
James and Sanford : Government in State and Nation, rev. ed., 
296-300. 

Lodge : Life of Alexander Hamilton. 

Schouler : History of the United States. (See index.) 



THE SUPREMACY OF THE CONSTITUTION 255 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. Why did the government under the Constitution assume the 
debt of the Confederation ? 

2. In what sense is the Constitution the supreme law of the land? 

3. Why is a treaty of the United States with a foreign nation 
above a state constitution? 

4. What were the leading objections to ratifying the Constitution ? 



CHAPTER XVII 

AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION AND THE 
AMENDMENTS 

Article V. — The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses 
shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Consti- 
tution, or, on the application of the Legislatures of two-thirds of the 
several States, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, 
which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as 
part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three- 
fourths of the several States, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, 
as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the 
Congress ; provided, that no amendment which may be made prior 
to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner 
affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first 
article ; and that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its 
equal suffrage in the Senate. 

Necessity of Power of Amendment. — The authors of 
the Constitution were wise enough to realize that it is not 
in the power of man to write a supreme law for the govern- 
ment of a nation so perfect as to provide for all its fu- 
ture requirements. Accordingly, they labored faithfully to 
make a perfect organic law that would secure the highest 
enjoyment of natural rights to each citizen, and then 
make provision for additional laws through amendments 
when the interest of the Union might demand such addi- 
tional enactments. Wise as is this provision, to have al- 
lowed the Constitution to be too easily amended would 
have caused political unrest and loss of respect for it. 

256 



AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION 257 

Hence it was made a slow, rather cumbersome, task to 
adopt an amendment, but on a great vital question the 
country has proved that it can be done. Nearly two 
thousand amendments have been suggested in an official 
way since the adoption of the Constitution ; twenty-one 
have gone to the states for ratification ; and seventeen 
have been accepted. This shows that the national gov- 
ernment is stable and conservative. Political experience 
proves that governments and people fare better in being 
too conservative in adopting changes, than in being too 
hasty and too radical. 

Proposals of Amendments. — There are two ways in 
which an amendment may be proposed : first, Congress 
may propose an amendment by a two- thirds vote of each 
house; or second, two thirds of the legislatures of the 
several states may apply to Congress to call a convention 
to propose an amendment. The last method has never 
been used. 

Methods of Ratifying. — There are two methods for 
ratifying the proposed amendment : first, it may be rati- 
fied by three fourths of the legislatures of the several 
states ; or, second, by conventions in three fourths of the 
states, as Congress may propose. When an amendment 
is proposed, it is submitted by Congress to the different 
states for ratification. After ratification is made by three 
fourths of the legislatures, or conventions, of the states, 
the amendment becomes a part of the Constitution. No 
amendment has ever been ratified by state conventions ; 
all have been ratified by state legislatures. 

Forbidden Amendments. — The Constitution prohibits 
the amending of the provision relating to state equality 
in the Senate. It also prohibited the amending of the 



258 THE NATION 

provision (not now in effect) that related to the importa- 
tion of slaves prior to the year 1808. 

Withdrawal or Ratification. — A state cannot withdraw 
its ratification of a proposed amendment after it has prop- 
erly ratified the same. 

A Bill of Rights. — Many of the states vigorously as- 
sailed the Constitution in their ratifying conventions, 
mainly on the grounds that it lacked what was deemed a 
sufficient guarantee of personal and political liberty and 
freedom. To remedy this weakness many amendments 
were proposed and their acceptance insisted upon. Out 
of the large number proposed, twelve were finally accepted 
by Congress and submitted to the states ; ten were adopted 
by the states and declared to be in force, December 15, 
1 791. These ten amendments are usually called the Bill 
of Rights. 

Amendment I. — Congress shall make no law respecting an 
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; 
or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press ; or the right of 
the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government 
for a redress of grievances. 

This amendment prohibits Congress from establishing 
a national religion ; it does not, however, check the states ; 
but nearly all state constitutions contain similar restric- 
tions. 

Freedom of Speech and the Press. — In our country 
the citizen has a right to speak and publish what he chooses, 
provided his utterances are not injurious to public morals 
and do not deprive others of the exercise of their natural 
rights. A free discussion of public questions, or matters 
that concern the people and the republic, is necessary in 
a free government. But a man is held liable for the abuse 



AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION 259 

of this privilege, as in cases of slander and libel. Slander 
and libel consist of speaking and writing of another falsely 
and maliciously such things as tend to injure him or bring 
him into disgrace. 

The Right of Assembly. — The right which a republic 
offers the people to assemble and discuss at length ques- 
tions of public importance has done a great deal to enlighten 
the people on public issues and questions, and in creating 
a higher moral sentiment, deeper reverence for the law, 
and larger love for humanity. When this privilege is 
properly used, it becomes a great force for good ; its abuse 
would be equally harmful. 

The Right of Petition. — The right of petition gives the 
people an opportunity to be heard on all questions concern- 
ing the public welfare. Good laws have been made, bad 
ones repealed, and wrongs have been righted as the result 
of the right of petition. Legislation, as well as other 
business connected with the different departments of a 
republic, is largely controlled by public opinion, and the 
right of petition gives the people an opportunity, in a 
constitutional way, of presenting to the agents of the 
government their desires and wishes. 

Amendment II. — A well regulated militia being necessary to 
the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear 
arms shall not be infringed. 

The Militia. — The militia referred to in this amend- 
ment is the citizen soldiery of the country. The people 
of each state have a right, under certain regulations, to bear 
arms and maintain a regular militia. This amendment 
makes a large standing army unnecessary, for the President 
may call the militia into the service of the United States ; 



26o THE NATION 

when this is done, the militia thereby becomes subject to 
the rules and regulations of the regular army. 

Amendment III. — No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quar- 
tered in any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of 
war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. 

Protection of Home. — This amendment is another 
guarantee of individual rights. Tyrannical rulers have in 
times past frequently quartered soldiers in the homes of 
their subjects without their consent. The theory of good 
government makes a man's home his castle, and guards 
him in the exercise and enjoyment of these sacred privileges. 
There is no necessity for quartering soldiers in private 
homes in time of peace. 

Amendment IV. — The right of the people to be secure in their 
persons, houses, papers, and efects, against unreasonable searches 
and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrant shall issue, but 
upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and partic- 
ularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things 
to be seized. 

This is another guarantee of personal rights. Every 
man's home is free from searches and seizures, unless these 
be authorized by a warrant issued by the proper authority. 
No warrant can lawfully be issued without sufficient cause, 
and on evidence supported by oath. It is necessary for 
the warrant to specify the place to be searched and describe 
the persons or things to be seized. 

Amendment V. — No person shall be held to answer for a capital 
or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment 
of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, 
or in the militia when in actual service in time of war or public 
danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be 
twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any 



AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION 26 1 

criminal case to be a witness against himself ; nor be deprived of 
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall 
private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. 

Amendment VI. — In all criminal prosecutions, the accused 
shall enjoy the right of a speedy and public trial, by an impartial 
jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been com- 
mitted, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, 
and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be 
confronted with the witness against him ; to have compulsory process 
for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of 
counsel for his defense. 

Amendment VII. — In suits at common law, where the value in 
controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall 
be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re- 
examined in any court of the United States, than according to the 
rules of the common law. 

Amendment VIII. — Excessive bail shall not be required nor 
excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments in- 
flicted. 

These four amendments, V, VI, VII, and VIII, have 
been discussed in the chapter on the Federal Judiciary. 
The Supreme Court in 1868 held that Amendments V and 
VI were in no sense limits on the states. 

Amendment IX. — The enumeration in the Constitution of cer- 
tain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained 
by the people. 

Most of the rights recognized by our government as be- 
longing to the people are not specifically enumerated in 
the Constitution. The best writers on constitutional law 
hold that we should have enjoyed the same rights that we 
do now, even if the Ninth Amendment had not been 
adopted. This amendment was made a part of the Con- 



262 THE NATION 

stitution, however, in order to guarantee to every citizen 
all the rights retained by the people of the states. 

Amendment X. — The powers not delegated to the United States 
by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved 
to the States respectively, or to the people. 

State Rights. — The power given by the Constitution 
to the federal government cannot be exercised by state 
governments. Neither can any power prohibited by the 
Constitution to the states be exercised by state authority. 
However, all the powers that the Constitution does not 
give to the United States, and does not deny to the states, 
are reserved to the states. 

Amendment XI. — The judicial power of the United States shall 
not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced 
or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another 
State, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign State. 

This amendment grew out of a decision of the Supreme 
Court which allowed Chisholm of South Carolina damages 
against Georgia. It has been discussed in Chapter XIII 
on the Federal Judiciary. 

Amendment XII. — This amendment dealing with the 
election of the President and Vice President, has already 
been discussed in the chapter on the Executive De- 
partment. 

Amendment XIII. — Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, 
except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been 
duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place 
subject to their jurisdiction. 

Sec. 2. — Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation. 



AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION 263 

Slavery. — - This amendment abolished slavery, which 
still existed in a few states after the Emancipation Proc- 
lamation had been issued. Secretary of State Seward 
issued a certificate December 18, 1865, announcing that 
this amendment had been ratified by the required number 
of states, and declaring it a part of the federal Constitution. 

Amendment XIV, Section 1. — All persons born or naturalized 
in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citi- 
zens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No 
State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges 
or immunities of citizens of the United States ; nor shall any State 
deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process 
of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal 
protection of the laws. 

Citizenship. — The first section of this article defines 
citizenship. Men, women, and children born or naturalized 
in the United States, and subject to its jurisdiction, are 
citizens of the United States, and of the state wherein 
they reside. Justice Cooley, in speaking of this part of 
the Constitution, says : " It is a formal declaration of the 
great principle that has been justly said to pervade and 
emanate the whole spirit of our Constitution and govern- 
ment — that all are equal before the law. 1 ' This section 
also guards the rights of citizens by placing restrictions 
upon the power of the state. 

Sec. 2. — Representatives shall be apportioned among the 
several States according to their respective numbers, counting the 
whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. 
But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for 
President and Vice President of the United States, representatives 
in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, or the mem- 
bers of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabit- 



264 THE NATION 

ants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the 
United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in 
rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be 
reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens 
shall bear to the whole number of citizens twenty-one years of age 
in such State. 

Purpose of this Section. — After the Civil War, negroes, 
being no longer held as slaves, would naturally be counted 
in apportioning the representatives to Congress from the 
South. If, then, they were not allowed to vote, the white 
population of the South would get a larger representation 
in Congress than would be their just due. This section 
does not compel the states to grant negro suffrage ; but 
provides that, if they restrict it, their representation to 
Congress shall be proportionately diminished. There is 
nothing in the article, however, that prohibits a property 
or educational qualification requirement by a state, and 
since 1890, many southern states have made these neces- 
sary for suffrage. 

Sec. 3. — No person shall be a senator or representative in 
Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any 
office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, 
who, having previously taken an oath as a member of Congress, or as 
an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, 
or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Con- 
stitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or 
rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies 
thereof. But Congress may, by vote of two thirds of each House, 
remove such disability. 

Punishment for Violating Oath of Office. — This section 
limits the power and privilege of all persons who take an 
oath to support the federal Constitution and afterward 



AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION 265 

engage in insurrection and rebellion against the United 
States, or give aid and comfort to its enemies. It would 
require a two-thirds vote of each house to remove disability 
from a citizen, caused by the enforcement of this amend- 
ment. This was passed in order to give Congress power to 
prevent such men from being elected to office, state or fed- 
eral, after the Civil War. Gradually Congress removed 
the disabilities by private or individual acts until 1898, 
when the last was removed. 

Sec. 4. — The validity of the public debt of the United States, 
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions 
and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, 
shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State 
shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insur- 
rection or rebellion against the United States or any claim for the loss 
or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations, and 
claims shall be held illegal and void. 

Sec. 5. — The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appro- 
priate legislation, the provisions of this article. 

But little need be said concerning Section 4. It makes all 
debts incurred in suppressing rebellion and insurrection 
valid and holds the government, responsible for their 
payment. It further declares that all debts made in the 
interest of rebellion and insurrection shall not be paid by 
any government. This amendment arose out of the Civil 
War. It prevented any attempt to pay the debt incurred 
by the Confederacy, either at home or abroad. 

Amendment XV. — The right of citizens of the United States 
to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any 
State, on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

Sec. 2. — Congress shall have power to enforce this article by ap- 
propriate legislation. 



266 THE NATION 

This amendment was intended to give the negroes equal 
suffrage with the white people. A citizen cannot be denied 
suffrage on account of race, color, or previous condition of 
servitude ; but each state may, if it desires, prescribe any 
other qualifications for its voters. If a qualification is 
required by a state, it must be uniform and affect white, 
red, yellow, and black people in the same way. This 
amendment was deemed necessary to protect the negroes 
in their civil rights, but it has not worked satisfactorily. 
The race was unfit for the suffrage when given, and it is a 
debatable question, especially in states where there are 
more negroes than whites, whether the amendment is not, 
even yet, a hindrance rather than a help to their progress. 

Amendment XVI. — The Congress shall have power to lay and 
collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without appor- 
tionment among the several States, and without regard to any census 
or enumeration. 

The Supreme Court having decided that a tax on income 
from property was a direct tax, this amendment was 
adopted in 19 13 to remove any future constitutional 
objections. 

Amendment XVII. — The Senate of the United States shall be 
composed of two senators from each State, elected by the people 
thereof, for six years; and each senator shall have one vote. The 
electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for elec- 
tors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures. 

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the 
Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of 
election to fill such vacancies : Provided, That the legislature of any 
State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appoint- 
ments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature 
may direct. 



AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION 267 

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election 
or term of any senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the 
Constitution. 

After considerable agitation extending over many years, 
this amendment was added to the Constitution in 19 13. 
It prescribes the manner of choosing United States senators 
and has been discussed elsewhere. 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

Andrews: New Manual of the Constitution, rev. ed., 265-285. 
Bryce: The American Commonwealth, I (3d ed.), 364-371. 
Channing: Student's History of the United States, rev. ed., 
244-252. 

Garner: Government in the United States, 127, 176, 280, 365-367. 
Guitteau: Government and Politics, 226-228. 
Hart : Actual Government, 56-64. 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. Why was the Constitution made amendable? Why made 
rather difficult to amend ? 

2. Describe the methods of proposing an amendment, and state, 
how an amendment is ratified. 

3. Why is it difficult to punish libel and anarchical utterances? 

4. Were the first ten amendments really necessary to the Consti- 
tution? Why? 

5. Should a state be allowed to limit suffrage on account of igno- 
rance and lack of property ? 

QUESTION FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That the Fifteenth Amendment should be abolished. 



CHAPTER XVIII 
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 

Foreign Affairs controlled by the Nation. — Under the 
Articles of Confederation much trouble was occasioned by 
states regulating their own commercial matters and in not 
allowing the federal government sufficient power to control 
all foreign affairs. This was changed by the Constitution. 
Only Congress can regulate commerce, and states are 
strictly forbidden to make treaties or alliances, or to enter 
into political relations with foreign nations, or to declare 
war. The executive department and the Senate alone have 
direction of the government in international affairs. 

Origin and Nature of International Law. — The origin 
of international law, in its present sense, is of comparatively 
recent date. Lawrence defines it " as the rules which deter- 
mine the conduct of the general body of civilized states in 
their dealing with one another." ! 

In short, by international law is meant those principles 
of equity and justice decreed by the common sense of nations 
in their relations with one another. Some principles of 
international law date far back to the ancients, especially 
those relating to the treatment of a foe in time of war. In 
its modern sense, international law owes perhaps most 
to Hugo Grotius, a famous Dutch writer, who published 
a book on the subject, in 1625, which has served as the basis 
for many later works on the same subject. No legislative 

1 Lawrence, The Principles of International Law, p. 1. 
268 



INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 269 

body decrees international law, no executive enforces it, 
nor, as yet, does any court define it. It has grown up 
through the traditions and customs of leading nations, and 
through agreements made in congresses and conferences. 
It is still in its infancy, but such as it is, it has done much 
for the peace and comity of nations. Writers on the sub- 
ject do not make their judgments law. Their inferences and 
conclusions are quoted by governments in controversies, 
and thus help to establish right principles of action. 

Making a Nation. — A nation, to have standing in the 
world's affairs, must have sovereignty sufficient to make 
and enforce its own laws and prove by its acts its ability 
and willingness to keep its treaty obligations. When it 
does these things, it deserves and gets recognition from other 
nations. Just when a new nation is to be recognized is left 
to the judgment of individual governments. As many new 
nations are born through rebellion and revolution, there 
often arises the question of interference by other govern- 
ments. If a country is engaged in civil war, it is a maxim 
of international law that other nations must keep hands off 
and give the parent state a chance to quell the rebellion. 
If, after a reasonable time, this is not done, and it becomes 
evident that the parent government either is wholly unable 
to put down the rebellion, or attempts such a policy as to 
shock the moral sense of the world ; and if through achieve- 
ments, the rebels show that they are worthy, foreign nations 
may recognize them as an independent nation, or may inter- 
vene in their behalf, or both. The United States generally 
pursues the policy of keeping out of the quarrels of other 
nations, but it has nearly always sympathized with peoples 
struggling for independence, and has recognized their inde- 
pendence when conditions justified such action. In 1898 



270 THE NATION 

the United States felt, for humanity's sake, that it must 
interfere, and did interfere, in Cuba on the side of the 
insurgents against Spain. 

Jurisdiction of and Intercourse between Nations. — 
Grotius asserted that the sea belongs to all who use it. 
It is clear that any nation must have authority and sov- 
ereignty over all the lands and inland waters within its 
borders. When it comes to jurisdiction over its coast line, 
should it have one, nations are not agreed, although the 
three-mile limit from the shore is generally accepted. It 
is not definitely settled how far a nation's jurisdiction ex- 
tends over bays, straits, and wide-mouthed rivers. It is 
generally agreed, however, that where bays and rivers do 
not exceed ten miles in width at their mouths, the three-mile 
limit shall be measured from a straight line joining the 
headlands. 

A settled course of action is sometimes followed without 
its being recognized as international law, as is illustrated 
by the leading nations of Europe in preserving the so-called 
balance of power, and the United States in maintaining the 
Monroe Doctrine, neither of which is accepted as a part of 
the code. Commercial and diplomatic intercourse with a 
nation cannot ordinarily be forced upon that nation against 
its will. Whether a nation establishes relations with an- 
other is supposed to be optional ; but in modern times, when 
no nation lives unto itself, all countries are almost com- 
pelled to allow foreigners the right of travel and trade, the 
right to hold property and the protection of their laws. 
When intercourse is once established through treaties, 
officials are exchanged, and property and life are safe- 
guarded. No nation will repudiate its agreements without 
grave causes. The United States almost forced China 



INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 27 1 

and Japan to make commercial treaties with our govern- 
ment, but, ordinarily, treaties have come about naturally 
through mutual desire. The United States now has treaties 
with all civilized and with many semicivilized nations. 
In all the leading nations, with the exception of China, 
American citizens are subject, in civil and criminal matters, 
to the laws and courts of the country in which they 
reside. 

Officials exchanged between Nations. — Generally, as 
soon as desires of intercourse are exchanged between two 
nations, a treaty is made by them through legally appointed 
agents. In the United States the treaty may be framed by 
agents appointed by the President and confirmed by the 
Senate, or it may be framed by the President and the depart- 
ment of state ; in either case it must be ratified by the Sen- 
ate and signed by the President. The treaty will contain 
agreements for the exchange of officials, whose duties it will 
be to look after the interests of each nation and to see that 
the treaty is properly observed. These officials are of dif- 
ferent ranks. In the United States, we send the following 
officials to foreign countries, named in order of their rank : 
ambassadors, envoys-extraordinary and ministers pleni- 
potentiary, ministers resident, and, for merely temporary 
purposes, charges d'affaires. All these officials are ap- 
pointees of the President, and as so much depends on the 
judgment and good sense of our agents abroad, the aim is 
to get good men and promote them from the lower positions 
to the higher, and from smaller to larger countries. These 
officials must not meddle with the politics or government of 
the government to which they are sent. They may, for 
sufficient reasons, be expelled from the country to which 
they have been sent, or a demand may be made for their 



272 THE NATION 

recall. On the other hand mistreatment of such officials is a 
grave offense, and has often amounted practically to a dec- 
laration of war. These officials communicate to the President 
through the secretary, of state and convey the wishes of 
the United States to the governments to which they are 
assigned. They and their property and households are 
exempt from the laws of the country in which they reside ; 
this being in accordance with international law every- 
where. 

Consuls. — Besides the officials above named the United 
States and other leading nations exchange officials called 
consuls. Somtimes vice consuls and consular agents, both 
with consular character, are sent to act for consuls. These 
men are sent to large seaports or large inland cities as busi- 
ness agents of a government. They are neither representa- 
tives of the government, nor diplomatic agents, and have 
neither the honors nor the freedom of a minister. Some- 
times a consul-general and, in a few cases, a consul general 
at large is appointed to supervise the work of consuls in 
the country to which they are sent. Recent reforms in 
the consular service have aided greatly in its efficiency. 
Consuls must now give all their time to their work, and 
appointees under them are chosen only through examina- 
tions. Duties of consuls are stated in Chapter XII. 

A State of War. — International law requires that nations 
must give some sort of notice before going to war. Some- 
times the dismissal of a minister is sufficient, though gen- 
erally an ultimatum is issued after all efforts at peaceful 
settlement have failed, or an open declaration of war is made. 
The United States has, in her wars, nearly always made a 
declaration beforehand. Again, in all civilized countries, 
citizens of one of the belligerent nations, who may be 



INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 273 

residing in the other, must be given protection of life and 
property, and be allowed reasonable time to dispose of their 
property and remove from the country. Diplomatic 
relations are always broken off between warring nations. 
Weapons which would be inhuman, and such instruments of 
death as explosive bullets, for example, are forbidden. 
Since the Paris Congress of 1856, nearly all the world has 
abolished privateering, which is now recognized as a species 
of robbery. Neutral rights are being more and more 
extended. A neutral must take no. part in a war. The 
United States accomplished much for the -world in regard 
to neutrality, by compelling Great Britain to pay damages 
for violation of neutral rights during the Civil War. 

Rights of War. — Ordinary goods of a neutral must not 
be captured, but contraband may be. Contraband is 
difficult to define. The Declaration of London (1909) gave 
a long list of such articles, which may be briefly classified as 
those pertaining to war directly, such as firearms, bullets, 
cartridges, powder and other explosives, armor plate, and 
such machinery as may be used to make any of them. 
Coal, horseshoes, and material for telegraph lines might 
become contraband in some cases. Efforts are being 
constantly made to lessen the destruction of property in 
war. 

A friendly power may offer mediation to nations at war 
if the time seems opportune, which offer may or may not 
be accepted. Wars are ended by definite treaties, after 
the ratification of which diplomatic relations are resumed. 
International law does not, and cannot, define what shall, 
and what shall not be accounted causes of war ; but, through 
its principles, causes are made fewer and situations are 
simplified. 



274 THE NATION 

Arbitration. — The horrors of war, the burdens of nations 
groaning under taxation for armament, the waste of energy 
and capital in maintaining large standing armies and navies, 
must eventually lead to an agreement between the nations 
to submit their differences to courts of arbitration. In 
the United States there have been many peace congresses 
to create sentiment against militarism, and they are en- 
listing the sympathy and efforts of many of the ablest 
men of the country. The United States has done more 
for settling disputes by arbitration than any other nation, 
being connected during the nineteenth century with about 
fifty out of a total of one hundred and twenty cases. 

The Hague Tribunal. — Through the efforts of the Czar 
of Russia, a conference was called at The Hague in 1899, 
primarily to consider plans to relieve the world of its 
burdensome armaments and substitute pacific methods for 
force. At that conference a permanent court of arbitration 
was organized to sit at The Hague, and each power that 
sent delegates and acceded to the recommendations of the 
conference selects four persons at the most, who act, if 
needed, as members of this court. Nations may choose 
from this list those whom they want to act as arbitrators. 
The court met first in 1901, since which time it has settled 
several cases, two of them being controversies in which the 
United States was a party ; viz., one with Mexico, and one 
with Great Britain. The method of arbitrating disputes 
has been severely criticized. " The so-called court is 
wanting in cohesion, continuity, and independence. Litiga- 
tion is slow and expensive." But an attempt in 1907 to 
remedy the defects of the Hague Tribunal was only partly 
successful. 1 The Hague Tribunal has not succeeded in 

1 Hershey : Essentials of International Public Law, pp. 332-340. 



INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 275 

abolishing or reducing the armaments of any nations, but it 
aims to create sentiment in that direction. Questions come 
before it only through agreement of the parties concerned, 
and it serves as a convenient tribunal for the settlement of 
international disputes. In 19 10 Andrew Carnegie gave 
$10,000,000 as a permanent fund, the interest of which 
is used in creating a permanent international arbitral court 
for the settlement of controversies and the maintenance of 
peace. 

Recent Arbitration Treaties. — Recently attempts have 
been made by the United States with a number of nations 
to secure arbitration treaties. Such treaties, popularly 
called " peace treaties," were ratified in 19 13, and early in 
1914, with a number of leading nations, including among 
others, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Norway, Spain, 
Sweden, and Switzerland. The treaties provide for ref- 
erence to the Hague Tribunal for five years of ]egal dif- 
ferences and questions relating to the interpretation of other 
existing treaties, which cannot be settled by diplomacy. 
No matter involving the independence or honor of the con- 
tracting nations is included in the scope of the new treaties. 
Before the United States permits a question to be submitted 
at The Hague, it must be agreed to by the President and 
ratified by the Senate. These treaties, limited to so brief 
a period of time, are not, of themselves, far-reaching ; 
but they will undoubtedly help forward the universal peace 
movement and minimize the danger of war. 

The United States in International Affairs. — Considering 
the short time the United States has existed as a nation, 
no country in history has wielded a greater influence or 
commanded more respect. More principles which may be 
said to be distinctly American, or have been championed by 



276 THE NATION 

the United States, have been accepted as international law, 
and fewer have been rejected, than of those advocated by 
any other nation. This has been due to three reasons : 
(1) As a nation we are large and powerful ; (2) our political 
system and our isolation have kept us aloof from entangling 
alliances, and therefore we are less selfish and less partial 
than many other nations ; (3) we have had able statesmen 
and diplomats to represent us in our department of state, 
and as ambassadors abroad. 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

Beard : American Government and Politics, ch. XVI. 

Boynton: School Civics, 326-343. 

Forman: Advanced Civics, 256-261. 

Foster : A Century of American Diplomacy, ch. IV. 

Guitteau : Government and Politics, 305-307 ; 397-405. 

Hall : Treatise on International Law (5th ed.), 43-59. 

Hart : Actual Government, ch. XXXIII. 

Hershey : Essentials of International Public Law, 311-343. 

Hinsdale: American Government, (4th ed.), 280-283. 

Kaye : Readings in Civil Government, ch. III. 

McCleary : Studies in Civics, 346, 364. 

Source Material and Supplementary Aids. — Consular reports 
from a few leading consuls abroad. Get copies of the laws of 1906 
and 1909, reforming our consular service abroad. Reports of the 
commissioner of immigration. Copies of proposed treaties, like the 
recent arbitration treaties with France and England which the Senate 
killed, may be had from your congressman while pending, and after- 
ward if they are accepted. 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. Why have international law ? How did it originate ? 

2. When should a revolutionary body or new nation be recognized ? 
What is the benefit of being recognized as a new, independent nation? 

3. How are points in dispute settled between nations? What are 
the merits of an international court ? 



INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 277 

4. Why are ambassadors and other diplomatic officials needed ? 

5. What ordinarily constitutes a cause of war? What are the 
duties of a neutral power ? 

6. Review briefly a few of America's diplomatic triumphs. Why 
generally successful? 

QUESTION FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That the United States should agree to arbitrate all 
questions of dispute with other nations at an international court. 



PART II — THE STATES AND LOCAL 
GOVERNMENT 

CHAPTER XIX 
TOWN AND TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION 

Beginning or Early English Local Government 

The Tun. — ■ The collecting and settling of people within 
a more or less definitely fixed area is older than the beginning 
of authentic history. Greece and Rome had their towns and 
town meetings, but before that time they had both family 
and clan organization. The beginning of the town or town- 
ship, as we know it, is of Saxon origin, and dates back prior 
to the Saxon conquest of England. In England there arose 
little villages, or " tuns," so named originally from the 
hedges that surrounded them. These villages were com- 
posed of small divisions of a tribe living in rude huts, each 
with a small lot around it. Near the village was a large 
field, used in common by the town, which was cut up into 
strips for tillage. Again, the old-time Saxons needed 
pasture for cattle, timber for building and fuel ; so a tract 
of woodland or waste land was held in common for these 
purposes. The people of the tun being a clan, more or less 
permanently located, soon needed some law and organiza- 
tion so that justice, according to their ideas, might be done. 
How the political machinery arose is not clear, but it seems 
that each freeman came to the tun meeting with his spear 
and shield, and had a vote in the assembly which gathered 

278 



TOWN AND TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION 279 

around a sacred tree or shrine. Here the disputes of the 
farmers were settled, fines were levied and collected, and 
criminals were punished according to the customs as stated 
by the old men. A headman, or reeve, who was prominent 
in the village, was chosen to preside. This meeting was 
closely akin to the New England town meeting of the early 
Puritans. 

The Hundred. — A tribe was divided into many tuns, or 
villages. A group of these comprised what was called the 
canton, or hundred, a district which probably was, or had 
been, inhabited by the families of some hundred warriors. 
In the hundred grew up an assembly called the hundred 
moot, which met once a month. To it came the reeve and 
four men elected by each village, or tun, as representatives, 
who settled property disputes and criminal cases involving 
more than single tun jurisdictions. Each man had a voice 
and a vote. 

The Tribe. — Above the tun and the hundred, in the 
early Saxon organization in England, was the tribe, which 
was organized as a shire. The tribe, scattered over more 
territory, embraced many tuns and several hundreds. It 
had generally a chief, with a council of distinguished men 
who later became the nobles, and a legislative assembly 
called the folkmoot. The folkmoot was a muster and a 
court, composed of the four men and the reeve from each 
of the tuns. It met twice a year, and was presided over by 
the chief, or by a nobleman of high rank. This body settled 
especially questions of peace and war, and chose the chief, 
who, later, was styled a king. 

Early English Changes. — The institutions of the Saxons 
gradually underwent considerable changes after the Norman 
conquest. The lords usurped jurisdiction over the land, 



280 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

and the reeve was superseded by the lord's steward. What 
had been tuns changed into what more nearly resembled 
our townships, However, the township then became gen- 
erally known as the manor, that is, a township in which 
the chief executive officers were responsible to the lord of 
the manor rather than to the people. The parish, a religious 
organization, was older than the manor, having been estab- 
lished in England soon after the conversion of the Saxons 
to Christianity. Often a township, a parish, and a manor 
were coincident in boundary, but each exercised certain char- 
acteristic functions. 

The parish retained much of the self-government of the 
old township. Certain matters of business could be trans- 
acted only in the vestry meeting, practically the old tun or 
town meeting under a new name. The parish looked 
mainly after the affairs of the church within its limits. The 
parish officers were elected by the taxpayers, or ratepayers, 
in the vestry meetings, with equal voice and vote. 

The term tun developed into town and township in later 
English history. The Puritans, when they settled in New 
England, used the term town. But the term township is 
now generally used throughout the United States when a 
local political and territorial unit is meant. The organiza- 
tion of the hundreds in England gradually disappeared when 
the larger unit occupied by the tribe was organized as a 
shire, and the folkmoot gave way to the shire court. The 
shire, originally meaning share, became an integral part of 
the kingdom, with local government under a noble subor- 
dinate to the king. Later the shires were called counties. 
These counties gradually became local self-governing units 
of the kingdom. 

Early Representative Government Started. — As has 



TOWN AND TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION 251 

already been noted, the hundred moot, the assembly of 
the hundred, was not attended by all the people, but 
by a delegation composed of four chosen freemen and a 
reeve from each tun, to whom was often added the parish 
priest. The same delegation attended the folkmoot, or 
assembly, of the tribe. As the small kingdoms were con- 
solidated into one nation, the idea of representation devel- 
oped at the same time in such a way as to strengthen 
and simplify the local government and also that of the 
kingdom. In successful representative government, Eng- 
land has led the world. The English township, or parish, 
became the basis of political organization in the shire ; upon 
it as a local unit are assessed national and local taxes, which 
are assessed and collected by officers chosen by popular 
vote. 

The Town in New England. — The first Puritans came 
to America generally as congregations, and settled in groups 
so as to be near a school and a church. The character of the 
soil and the proximity of Indians made small farms and 
village settlement desirable and necessary. In Virginia 
and in the South, generally, where the plantations were 
large, the smallest unit was the parish, which exists yet in 
some states as a magisterial district and a division of a 
county. All legal voters could attend the town meeting; 
it usually met once annually, but could meet oftener, if 
necessary, and in it any one could propose and discuss 
measures. It is the best example of pure democracy we 
have. In it the local officers were elected ; rates of taxa- 
tion were fixed ; money was appropriated for schools, roads, 
charities, and other local expenses ; and town laws were 
made. The town or township including the area around 
the town is not only interesting as a self-governing insti- 



282 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

tution, but it is the smallest political unit, a division of a 
county, and hence is the foundation, in a sense, of state and 
national government. 

Importance of Townships. — The counties in New Eng- 
land were the outgrowth of the townships, and were or- 
ganized primarily for administrative purposes. The early 
county served as a convenient local unit for the regulation 
of the militia, and to provide for the necessary courts and 
public records. The county is not as characteristically 
American in its influence as is the township. The principal 
officers of a town are : selectmen, three to seven, who have 
general management of the town ; a town clerk, who keeps 
the records and the minutes of the town meeting ; assessors, 
tax collectors, a town treasurer, justices of the peace, and 
a school committee. The duties of these are clear from 
their names. This government still obtains in the smaller 
New England towns, which, it should be noted, are rural 
communities or semiurban only, as cities growing up 
within the town's area take up separate municipal govern- 
ment. It gives the masses political training, and the town 
meeting and township government in New England have 
proved great factors in the political life of America. Towns 
in New England contain from twenty to forty square 
miles, and average about 2500 to 3000 in population. 
Outside of New England, towns exist in a modified form, 
and are almost always called townships. 

Different Forms of Townships. — An adaptation of the 
town government has spread over nearly all the Middle 
and Western states. Since early in the eighteenth century, 
New York has had a law providing for a supervisor of a 
township, and the township supervisors constitute a county 
board. This created a nucleus for a strong local govern- 



TOWN AND TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION 283 

ment over small areas, and laid through the townships 
the foundation of county government. This form of county 
township government spread westward, especially into 
Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. In the two states 
first named there are from sixteen to twenty townships in 
a county, which tends to make the county board of 
supervisors a rather unwieldy body. In Pennsylvania the 
county system of government developed first, the town- 
ship being of later origin, and hence the bpard of township 
supervisors does not govern the county. The township 
held meetings merely to elect its officers, and there the 
meeting stopped, for the officers did the rest. This form 
of county-township government has spread into Ohio, 
Indiana, and later into nearly all Western and North- 
western states. 

Spread of Township Government. — Modifications of 
the township system of government prevail almost every- 
where in the United States to-day. The South, through 
magisterial districts for local justice, local taxation, and 
the school district, is rapidly adopting the township form. 
It is an interesting study to note how some Western states, 
settled from New England, New York, and Pennsylvania, 
carried with them ideas of the local government at home 
and fused a system having parts of the home plans ; and, 
that when the stream of settlers came from the East and 
the South, as in Indiana and Illinois, there is an interest- 
ing adaptation of township and county government. 

The so-called congressional township is six miles square, 
and is based on the government surveys begun in the West 
in 1785. Not all townships are uniform in size, but as a 
rule they centered around a schoolhouse ; whereas in New 
England town life is centered about a church, and in the 



284 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

South local government centers around a county court- 
house. 

Township Officers. — Township officers vary in different 
states. In some states there is a board of trustees elected 
for two or four years to look after roads and the public 
schools ; the other leading officers are : a clerk, to keep the 
records and accounts for the township ; an assessor, to list 
and value the property ; one or more justices of the peace, 
and constables. In general, in the government of townships 
may be found executive, legislative, and judiciary depart- 
ments, such as are found in county, state, and nation. 
The township government of Indiana is typical, and well 
illustrates this point. The executive officers of the town- 
ship in that state are the trustee and assessor, both of 
whom are elected by the voters for a term of four years, 
as are all township officials. The trustee's duties are to 
care for the schools, employ teachers, and care for the town- 
ship's property. He oversees the work of road super- 
visors, who look to him for supplies ; takes the census of the 
school children each year ; and looks after the township's 
poor, for whom he may spend a limited sum before sending 
them to the county poorhouse. The assessor lists for taxa- 
tion all property except lands, each year, and lands every 
four years. The legislative feature of the township is 
in an advisory board of three members, who are also elected 
by the people. They get practically no salary and meet 
only on the call of the trustee, but must convene at least 
once annually. They may inspect the records of the trus- 
tee's acts, and raise or lower, within statutory limits, the 
tax rates for township schools and roads. Two justices 
of the peace and two constables make up the judiciary 
of the township. These guard the peace and try trivial 



TOWN AND TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION 285 

civil and criminal cases. The fines collected go part to 
them as officials, and the rest to the county treasury. 

The township trustee and the assessors are a part of the 
county government in so much that their reports concerning 
the listing of property for taxation and local taxes are recog- 
nized by the county officials and become a matter of county 
record. The trustee is a member of the county board of 
education, and this board elects the county superintendent 
of schools. When the township has within it incorporated 
towns or cities, there is cooperation between the several 
political units, their respective duties being clearly settled 
by law. 

Importance of Township Government. — More than 
ever, there has recently been a demand for better rural 
conditions, especially better schools and roads. As a 
result schools have been and are being greatly improved, 
and better farming is being done, better houses are being 
built, and teachers are better trained and paid. Road 
building has received a great impetus, due to rural mail 
delivery and a realization of the value of good roads in 
marketing the products of the farm ; also good roads facili- 
tate the consolidation of schools at a centrally located place, 
and improve the whole tone of the township. As the school 
is really the center of the township's life, and the township 
is the smallest political unit, it will readily be seen that its 
improvement by the township, or by the state or the nation, 
is bound to improve all. Couple all of this with the great 
democratic movements spreading everywhere, as more and 
more the people want the government in their hands, and 
it is evident that good management in their local affairs 
will be the best manifestation of their ability to do larger 
things well. A nation can be strong only if its local gov- 



286 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

ernment everywhere is strong, and so the township to-day is 
a great and growing factor in our government. 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

Ashley : The American Federal State, ch. XX. 

Bryce : The American Commonwealth (3d ed.), I, 590-596. 

Fairlie : Local Government in Counties, Towns and Villages, chs. 
IV, V, VI. 

Fiske : Civil Government, 34-42 ; 7 1-80. 

Forman : Advanced Civics, ch. XXVIII. 

Gardiner : Students' History of England, ch. II. 

Garner : Government in the United States, ch. I. 

Green : A Short History of the English People, 1-5. 

James and Sanford: Government in State and Nation, rev. ed., 
ch. I. 

Strong and Shafer: Government of the American people, 1-16. 

Wilson: The State, rev. ed., sees. 1214-1245. 

Source Material and Supplementary Aids. — Your state constitu- 
tion. Your county map, showing the smallest local political units. 
Source books on English history, giving material on local government. 
State statutes defining local government and duties of local officials. 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1 . Trace whence came the ideas of local political units into America. 

2. Trace how and why your own smallest local political units 
started. How governed ? 

3. Which would be better for the small local unit, loose government 
of all the people, or centralization in a few officials ? Why ? 

4. Which is of more importance to the ordinary citizen, township 
and district local government, or state and national government ? 

5. Make a list of all your local officers. 

QUESTION FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That the township system of local government is better if 
intrusted to many committees, or boards, for administration. 



CHAPTER XX 

THE COUNTY 

The County in England. — The shire has already been 
mentioned as originating in England. It was a division 
larger than the hundred, and generally smaller than a 
Saxon kingdom ; often the shires were named after some 
town, which shows that they took form later than the 
towns. The assembly of the hundred gradually decayed 
in England, and the shire moot, composed of the freemen 
of the shire, met and kept up local self-government. The 
shire moot had its ealdorman, or chief, in charge when it 
did the legislating for the county. To this same meeting 
came a bishop of the church, and a shire reeve, or sheriff, 
whose duty was to look after the king's business as his 
direct representative. When the moot sat as a county 
court, it was presided over by the sheriff, who afterward 
enforced its decrees. The shires were often the successors 
of little tribal kingdoms ; sometimes a few shires had 
constituted a kingdom ; in general, the shires are the oldest 
local divisions of England, coming down to us only slightly 
changed, and the nation was the result of their gradual 
union, as was the United States the result of the union of 
our colonies. The counties lost much of their political 
importance after the Tudor period, since much work which 
had formerly been done by their local self-government 
was now done by the national government. Yet the early 
English settlers, when they came to America, adopted 

287 



288 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

many of the features of the English county in their own 
county organization. Especially is this traceable in the 
fact that the county was made the unit for the administra- 
tion of justice. 

The Early New England County. — As has already been 
noted, the county played a secondary role to that of the 
towns in New England local government. But, as early 
as 1643, four counties were formed in Massachusetts for 
judicial and military purposes. From the beginning the 
county was a judicial unit, which arrangement still obtains 
in Rhode Island, and largely so in the other New England 
states. The early county furnished a regiment of soldiers, 
made up of companies from its different towns. Each had 
a courthouse, a jail, a sheriff, and keepers of public records. 
The first courts of the counties were presided over by jus- 
tices and a sheriff, appointed by the governor. The courts 
could try petty civil cases not involving over forty shillings, 
and criminal cases not punishable by death. They regu- 
lated highways and apportioned taxes among the various 
towns. Especially in its judicial business and in adminis- 
tration the New England county was modeled closely 
after the English shire. 

The New England County To-day. — To-day the prin- 
cipal officials of the New England counties are : first, three 
commissioners, elected by the people, generally for three 
years, one being elected annually, whose duties are to esti- 
mate and levy the annual county taxes and apportion them 
among the different towns, to control roads and bridges, 
to look after county buildings and houses of correction, 
but who, except in the apportionment of taxes, have no 
authority whatever over the towns ; second, a county 
treasurer, elected for three years, who receives and pays 



THE COUNTY 289 

out the funds of the county raised by taxation and through 
fines and court costs ; third, a probate county judge, having 
charge of wills and the administration of estates ; fourth, a 
register of probate, elected for five years, who has charge 
of wills and court records ; fifth, a register of deeds, elected 
for three years, who has charge of all land transfers and 
mortgages; and finally, justices of the peace, appointed 
by the governor, whose jurisdiction is over only petty 
matters similar to those in a western township. It will 
be seen that all the officers named, except the commissioners 
and the treasurer, are really attached to the court, and do 
legal work. The most important officer, however, in the 
New England, as in the English, county, is the sheriff who 
is elected for three years. He is the executive officer of 
the county, must attend all court meetings, and must carry 
out all court mandates, and is, therefore, in part, a court 
official. 

The Southern County. — In England, after the Tudor 
period, the shire court was gradually supplanted by a 
court called the "quarter sessions," composed at first of 
six and later of any number of judges. These judges hold 
office for life, appoint constables, control roads and prisons, 
and try all minor offenses. The parish absorbed the ordi- 
nary duties of the court of quarter sessions, and exercised 
them over a small area, with additional duties related to 
church affairs, such as levying rates for church support. 
All church members, called ratepayers, had a vote in the 
parish. In Virginia, as elsewhere in America, people 
began to settle in towns, but the fertility of the soil and 
the nature of the products caused them to scatter, and land 
ownership became a basis of rank. The parish of England 
was introduced into Virginia, with about the same officials, 



290 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

but it was governed differently. It was entirely undemo- 
cratic, not being representative, for its twelve vestrymen, 
at first elected by the ratepayers of the church, became 
a perpetual body with power to fill its own vacancies. 
The vestrymen levied the parish taxes, had other functions 
similar to those in England, and trained the people some- 
what in self-government, but in no sense was the Virginia 
parish a political unit like the New England township. 
Another political unit was needed, especially for representa- 
tion and judicial purposes, and hence the county unit was 
created. The county, then, had its origin, in America, 
in the Old Dominion. Sometimes the Virginia county had 
only two parishes, but generally more. 

Officials of the Southern County. — The Virginia county 
was created for judicial and financial purposes. To the 
parish was left church affairs, but representation in the 
state legislature was left to the county. The county court, 
at first composed of eight justices appointed by the gov- 
ernor, who met once a month, was its main governing 
agency. This court recommended men to the governor 
to fill its own vacancies and for the office of sheriff, the high- 
est officer of the Virginia county. Besides exercising ordi- 
nary judicial functions, the county court, when the county 
judge and magistrates sat as a fiscal court, looked after 
roads and bridges, assessed county taxes, and granted 
licenses, etc. Great crowds came to the sessions, as is 
true to-day, if for no other purpose than to barter, trade 
in horses, and talk politics. The county court of the present 
time, except when sitting as a fiscal court with the justices 
of the peace which it still does in a few Southern states, is 
presided over by a judge, elected by the people, who has 
charge of probate matters and who tries minor cases, both 



THE COUNTY 29 1 

civil and criminal. The sheriff is not only a court official, 
but he collects taxes, disburses them, and presides over 
elections. The other important county officers of the 
South are the assessor, the recorder, treasurer, clerk, cor- 
oner, prosecuting attorney, circuit judge, and a superin- 
tendent of public schools. The circuit judge and the 
prosecuting attorney may have several counties under their 
jurisdiction. The circuit judge has charge of civil and 
criminal cases of more importance than those under the 
jurisdiction of the county judge. 

The more important duties of the principal county 
officers of the South to-day, not already given, will be taken 
up next. The duties of the officers given are practically 
the same in all sections of the country. Nearly all of them 
are elected by the people and hold office for a term of four 
years. 

The assessor has charge of the listing and assessment 
of all property in the county. In some states he has 
under him township, or district, assessors, to whom he gives 
direction and aid. 

The auditor or clerk is an important administrative 
officer. In some of the Southern states he takes the place 
of the recorder and keeps the record of mortgages, deeds, 
and leases. Where states have the commissioner board 
system of county government, as in the Northwest, the 
auditor is secretary to the county board. He must keep 
an account of all receipts and expenditures of the county, 
and thus is a check on the sheriff or treasurer. 

The clerk of the circuit court must see that the court's 
records and proceedings are enrolled in a permanent form. 
He prepares the docket of all cases for trial and records the 
judgments issued ; also, keeps transcripts and papers of 



292 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

the court, and issues warrants on the county treasury for 
jury and witness fees. 

The coroner takes charge of the body of a murdered person, 
or of one found dead from violence or under mysterious 
circumstances. He may summon a jury and physicians, 
and hold what is commonly called a " coroner's inquest," 
which renders a verdict stating the probable cause of death. 

The recorder keeps the record of all deeds, mortgages, 
and leases in a systematic manner in states where a county 
clerk does not perform this duty. 

The superintendent of schools is at the head of the 
county's schools. He holds examinations for teachers, visits 
the different schools, grades their work, supervises common- 
school promotion to high schools, and everywhere devotes 
his time to the improvement of the rural and public 
schools. His is an office of growing importance and of 
great possibilities for service and usefulness to a county. 

The treasurer is the collector of the county and state 
taxes, where this duty does not fall upon the sheriff. This 
officer is, in brief, the custodian of the county funds. In 
most states his term is for two years, and he is made 
ineligible for more than two terms in succession. 

Spread of the Virginia County. — The county govern- 
ment of Virginia has been copied by practically every 
Southern state, and by Colorado and Oregon. It has 
many admirable features about it, but also some defects. 
One of the main objections is that the southern county gov- 
ernment is very expensive. The Southern states are behind 
other states in still allowing their county officials all sorts 
of fees and perquisites, instead of grouping the counties 
according to population and putting the officials on definite 
salaries fixed by the state legislatures. 



THE COUNTY 293 

The Mixed System of County Government. — In New 

England, it has been noted, the county played a minor 
part in local government, being secondary to the town. 
In Virginia and the South it is the all-important unit of 
local government. In the Middle Colonies there grew up 
a mixed system of government, owing to the character of 
the people and of their industries. Especially did New 
York and Pennsylvania develop interesting systems, the 
former emphasizing the township first, and allowing it 
powers which were not delegated to the county ; the latter 
developed the county first and then the township. The 
systems of Pennsylvania and New York have affected local 
government in the West and Northwest more than those 
of any other states, except where the Virginia plan wa*s 
adopted. 

The Court System of the County. — The system of 
justice, as a rule, is more or less complicated, but what 
ordinarily is done in counties in the several states is noted 
here and in a subsequent paragraph. Justice as dispensed 
in magisterial districts and townships, before local justices 
of the peace, who have about the same jurisdiction in all 
the states, has already been dealt with. Cases brought 
before these officials over which they have no jurisdiction, 
are referred to the grand juries and regular county, circuit, 
or probate courts. Cities of consequence have police 
courts and juvenile courts, which relate only to the city, and 
which accordingly have no jurisdiction over matters arising 
in the county outside. Some states have created county 
judges with minor criminal jurisdiction, combined with 
probate business ; in other states there is a special probate 
court which does no other work ; while in others it is the 
business of the circuit court to handle probate matters. 



294 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

The Circuit Court of a County. — The court that is 
found almost universally in every county in the United 
States is the circuit court. It has both civil and criminal 
and, as above stated, sometimes probate jurisdiction. 
What is generally known as a superior court assists the 
circuit courts in some states in their counties having a 
large population. The circuit court has original jurisdiction 
in most of its business, but may hear appeals from the 
lower courts of a county. In some cases its decision is final, 
but in other cases an appeal may be taken to the state 
appellate or supreme court. While the circuit court exists 
everywhere, sometimes more than one county is included in 
the judicial circuit or district, and then all the counties in 
this district vote for the circuit judge and prosecuting 
or district attorney. All the courts operating in the 
county have the county sheriff for their executive officer. 

The Jury System. — Besides the officials already men- 
tioned, there is, in the machinery of justice, also the jury, 
which is of two kinds : petit and grand. Both of these 
organizations are of very early English origin, and are 
recognized in both our federal and state constitutions. 

The grand jury is made up from representative men of 
the county, varying in number from six to twenty- three, 
who are chosen by court officials. Its sole business is to 
ferret out crime, to which end it may call before it any 
witnesses by a summons or subpoena, and inquire about 
violations of the law. It also consults with the district 
attorney and judge, and if sufficient evidence seems at 
hand, an indictment, or true bill, is issued and put into the 
sheriff's hands for execution. The jury's work is secret, 
and the indicted person must not know what has been done 
until he is arrested. The person arrested gives bond, if 



THE COUNTY 295 

charged with a bailable offense; if not so charged, he is 
imprisoned until a day is set for his trial, when he appears 
before the petit jury. 

The petit jury is selected by court officials, and in almost 
every state is composed of twelve men who have not formed 
a definite and unchangeable opinion as to the guilt or inno- 
cence of the accused, prior to the time they are sworn in 
for jury duty. The trial proceeds before the judge and 
these twelve men, who, in some states, are to be the final 
judges of both the law and evidence ; in others, of the evi- 
dence only, guided fairly in both instances by the presiding 
judge. The members of the jury must agree unanimously 
on a verdict in order to pass sentence. In case they cannot 
do this, they so report to the judge. The petit jury sits 
in both civil and criminal cases, unless otherwise agreed 
upon. 

Some objections to the jury system. — In selecting 
a jury, both the plaintiff and defendant may challenge, 
and have set aside, a given number of talesmen summoned ; 
also, if prejudice should be so great that a fair trial cannot 
be had, a change of venue to another county is granted. 
Nearly all legal business comes before the circuit or district 
and probate courts for settlement, and the verdict of the 
jury is generally accepted as final. Much injustice and 
evil has been done by jury trial ; but as yet nothing better 
has been devised. A set of trial judges, trained in the law 
and in sifting evidence, is often suggested for all cases ; 
but so many objections to the plan at once arise that no 
state has ever tried it. Some of the obstacles in the way 
of getting speedy justice at little cost are due to the fact 
that many good citizens shirk jury duty, leaving it to a 
crowd of professional hangers-on, found around every 



296 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

county seat, who are unfit for such duty ; and again, many 
men dodge this patriotic duty, often because lawyers and 
courts by unnecessary delays allow cases to drag along 
over long periods of time, and jury service is a burden 
at best. These circumstances often result in injustice 
whichever party to the suit may win. Again, the fact 
that twelve men must be unanimous in a verdict seems 
an injustice, as it often leads to a compromise when a ver- 
dict is finally reached. This could readily be remedied by 
allowing two thirds or three fourths of the jury to render 
a verdict, thereby securing a real verdict instead of a forced 
compromise ; also, it would prevent many mistrials, and 
save counties enormous sums. The trial by jury is, how- 
ever, the fairest and safest system, if citizens would do 
their duty, and if all courts would expedite business and 
compel lawyers to introduce only relevant and material 
evidence. 

The County as the Unit for State Government. — The 
county is a territorial and political division, created by a 
state legislature to serve as a connecting link between a 
given number of local units, called magisterial districts in 
the South, and townships in the remainder of the country. 
Every state is divided into counties, or their equivalents, 
which arrangement enables the state government to be in 
direct relation and close touch with every part of its 
domain. 

Problems of the County. — County government is a 
very important factor in the well-being of any community, 
but is frequently sadly neglected. Often communities 
get excited over questions like tariff, trusts, and Cuban 
annexation, but fail to look closely into home matters 
which mean infinitely more to them. State and national 



THE COUNTY 297 

politics cannot be clean and healthful if county government 
is corrupt. 

" Graft " in office. — One of the greatest problems of the 
county is to get men of honesty, ability, and efficiency to 
fill the offices. There is always in every county a horde of 
hungry office seekers, sometimes rival sets and cliques, 
striving to get into office by hook or crook, and often spend- 
ing as much money to be elected as the office pays, if not 
more. Unless such persons are wealthy and covet merely 
the honor, they must contrive in some way to get back the 
money spent for election. In such instances " graft " 
and dishonesty prevail, and the county suffers from mis- 
government, high taxes, poor roads, unsafe bridges, and 
bad schools. The remedy is in a better citizenship, eternal 
vigilance, and unceasing attention to county affairs, with 
a demand for efficiency in office, and enforcement of the 
law. 

County poor and criminals. — Many states give what 
is commonly known as outdoor relief, meaning aid given 
at the home of the pauper, through township and magis- 
terial offices. This method of relief works well for tem- 
porary purposes, and especially so in rural communities 
where every one is well known. Over so large an area as 
a county, or in towns and cities, outdoor relief ordinarily 
gives way to what is known as indoor relief, meaning the 
support of paupers and indigent in an almshouse, or poor- 
house. Nearly all counties have poorhouses located on a 
farm, where the inmates may partly support themselves 
by their labor. The county commissioners usually have 
supervision of poorhouses and other institutions of various 
kinds for poor relief in the county, but place officials known 
as overseers or superintendents of the poor in immediate 



290 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

charge of them. The jails which serve as the county's 
prisons are generally in charge of the sheriff, or a special 
officer elected by the people known as a jailer. In some 
states the jails are also under the general supervision of the 
board of county commissioners. The management of many 
poorhouses and jails in all sections of the country fre- 
quently is subject to severe criticism. In both there is mis- 
management ; the cost of maintenance is often too high, 
and proper care is not exercised in the segregation of the 
sexes in the almshouses, and in keeping youthful criminals 
and those guilty of petty offenses from those who are old 
offenders and hardened in crime. Often crime, instead of 
being corrected, is created and fostered. This will be true 
until public sentiment insists on competent supervision of 
charities and prisons by men fitted for the work. Too often, 
at present, persons who have charge of these institutions 
get their positions merely through party pulls for political 
reward, and the community suffers morally and financially 
as a result. 

Closer State Supervision. — At present the tendency 
everywhere is to strengthen democracy and to hold local 
and state officials more strictly responsible to the people. 
This being true, it may seem like a contradiction to say 
that some states are succeeding in getting better county 
government by placing county officers under the super- 
vision and control of state officers, as well as by giving 
them a definite salary and requiring them to turn all fees 
into the county treasury, and to put the county funds, 
which belong to the people, at interest, the interest to go 
to the county instead of to themselves and their friends. 
Expert accountants and supervisors should be provided 
by the state government to audit the accounts of county 



THE COUNTY 299 

officials and see that the law is obeyed. This seems like 
bureaucracy and centralization ; but it is true democracy, 
since it safeguards the interests of the people. 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

Beard : Readings in American Government and Politics, ch. XXIX. 

Bryce: The American Commonwealth, I (3d ed.), chs. XL VIII, 
XLV. 

Fiske : Civil Government, 48-70. 

Forman: Advanced Civics, 195-200. 

Gardiner : Student's History of England, 72-77. 

Garner : Government in the United States, 14-24. 

Green : Short History of the English People, rev. ed., 175-180. 

Guitteau : Government and Politics in the United States, ch. II. 

Hart : Actual Government, ch. X. 

Hinsdale: American Government (4th ed.), 400-408. 

Kaye : Readings in Civil Government, 311-328. 

Strong and Shafer: Government of the American People, chs. 
II, III. 

Thwaites: The Colonies, 55-58 ; 192-193. 

Wilson: The State, rev. ed., sees. 1239-1243. 

Source Material and Supplementary Aids. — A state map, locating 
counties. Have a map with the county divisions for local government 
in townships or magisterial districts. Watch proceedings of county 
officers in newspapers. Get copies of financial statements of township 
and county officials. Show how money is raised and expended. 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. Does the eastern or southern county of to-day more nearly cor- 
respond to the English shire ? Why ? 

2. Why does the county count for more in the South than in New 
England? • 

3 . How many counties in your state ? May old counties be divided 
in your state? How? 

4. May new counties be created in your state ? How ? 

5. How do you explain the importance attached to the office of the 
sheriff among county officials ? 



300 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

6. Name your county officials ; give term and salary received. 

7. State duties of different county officials. 

8. What is meant by the mixed system of county government? 

9. Name the different courts in your county. Who are the officials 
connected with each one ? Duties of these officials ? 

10. Define grand and petit juries. How chosen ? 

11. Explain steps a criminal case takes from the time robbery has 
been committed in a neighborhood until the criminal is in a state 
prison. 

12. Explain steps in a civil case, where the title to a farm is in 
dispute. 

QUESTION FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That the jury system should be supplanted by a set of 
seven judges trained in the law. 



CHAPTER XXI 

THE STATE GOVERNMENTS UNDER THE 
CONSTITUTION 

Chapter III tells how the English-American colonies 
proclaimed themselves states by the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. Some of them, in fact, had organized state 
governments prior to July 4. 1776. In the government 
under the Continental Congress from July 4. 1776. to March 
i, 17S1. the states were united only through the common 
cause of righting for freedom. During this period each 
state governed itself practically as a separate, sovereign 
community, and obeyed the Congress only when it felt 
so inclined. In the government under the Confederation. 
1781-1789, each state retained, as declared in Article II. 
" its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every 
power, jurisdiction and right which is not by this confedera- 
tion expressly delegated to the United States in Congress 
assembled." The states also denied themselves some of 
the same powers that were afterward denied them by the 
federal Constitution. Nearly all the states had adopted 
constitutions, which they retained with slight changes. 
after ratifying the federal Constitution. Connecticut 
and Rhode Island, as has already been stated, continued 
under their colonial charters. In most of the states new 
constitutions were framed, or old ones amended, before 
1800. 

Powers of a State. — The powers of the federal govern- 
ment are delegated powers. Some powers are denied to 

301 



302 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

it, and some are denied to the states. Experience had 
clearly shown that the states must deny themselves many 
powers, if a new form of government was to be an improve- 
ment over the old one. Accordingly, the states inserted 
into the Constitution many prohibitions upon themselves 
(Article I, Section 10). In Article I, Section 9, and in the 
first eight articles of the amendments, are found the powers 
denied to the federal government. Whether or not the 
states are older than the Union, or the Union is older than 
the states, neither can get along without the other. With- 
out the machinery of the state governments, which are in 
close touch with the daily life of the people, the national 
government could not exist at all. In the whole range of 
powers, some are exclusively federal, some belong exclu- 
sively to the states, some are expressly denied both to the 
federal government and to the states, while some are con- 
current. The Constitution does not, however, clearly 
define the different spheres, and, after more than a century 
of experience and judicial interpretations, some questions 
are not yet settled. 

The tendency of the national government since the Civil 
War has been toward centralization and encroachment 
upon the rights of the states. These rights must be jeal- 
ously guarded. For a generation or more after the adop- 
tion of the Constitution, the right of secession from the Union 
on the part of a state was a common belief of both the north 
and the south. The states everywhere called themselves 
sovereign, occasionally nullified laws of the federal govern- 
ment, and frequently threatened secession in New England 
and in the South. The South, basing its action upon what 
was felt to be the legal and constitutional right of a state, 
finally attempted secession. In the meantime, however, 



THE STATE GOVERNMENTS 303 

a national sentiment had evolved and become dominant 
in the North and West, the reasons for which are explained 
in American history. 

Whatever may have been the original thought of a ma- 
jority of the framers of the Constitution, and of those ratify- 
ing it, an evolution of sentiment, overwhelmingly in favor 
of national supremacy, settled the question of secession in 
the negative by the arbitrament of war. In 1869 Chief 
Justice Chase, in delivering the judgment of the Supreme 
Court, in the case of Texas v. White, summarized our 
government as " an indestructible Union composed of 
indestructible states." All fair-minded people now de- 
plore the fact that there should have been the worst civil 
war of modern times to settle the rights of a state under 
the Constitution, and to determine the nature of the Union ; 
on the other hand, all are agreed that it is for the best 
that all states are in harmony to-day, and that the United 
States is one united nation held together by stronger 
bonds than ever before. 

Periods of State Constitutions. — The first constitu- 
tions of the states were framed during the revolutionary 
period, and only slight changes and modifications were 
made by the end of the century. They all show evidence 
of great fear of the acts of governors and of centralized 
authority, and give more authority to the legislatures which 
are chosen directly by the people. During the second 
period, from the beginning of the century to the Civil War, 
the constitutions show great extensions in the matters of 
suffrage and religious liberty, and an increase as to the 
number of elective officers. The third period has extended 
from the reconstruction days to the present time. In this 
period one observes that constitutions are much longer 



304 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

and more elaborate in detail. The governor is given the 
veto power in all but four states, the power of the courts 
is increased, and legislatures are more restricted in their 
law-making power. Constitutions have been changed 
oftener in the South and West than elsewhere in the country, 
due to less conservatism and less reverence for the past, 
and to the rapid economic changes and upheavals that 
have taken place in those sections. 1 At the present 
time the constitutions of the Western states, especially, 
are being radically changed, and, it would seem, unduly 
lengthened. The chief aspect of these alterations is that 
the electorate is given increased powers which will be 
noted in another chapter. 

Adoptions of State Constitutions and Amendments. — 
At first all our state constitutions were formed either by 
legislatures or special constitutional conventions whose 
work stood without ratification by the electorate of the 
state. Now, in nearly all states, a convention is chosen, 
in which all the counties are represented, to frame a con- 
stitution which is submitted to the electorate for ratifica- 
tion. About one third of the states require this method 
by law, but nearly all states practice this procedure, ex- 
cept those few whose constitutions require revision at 
stated intervals. Congress has a voice in the acceptance 
of the territory's first constitution, and it may refuse to 
accept it, as was recently (191 1) done in the case of Arizona, 
owing to its having a clause providing for the recall of 
judges. All state constitutions have a bill of rights, guar- 
anteeing to their citizens practically what the first ten 
amendments of the federal Constitution do ; an outline 
or frame of government providing for executive, legislative, 

1 See Bryce : " The American Commonwealth," I (3d ed.), 450-462. 



THE STATE GOVERNMENTS 305 

and judiciary departments ; and miscellaneous provisions. 
Under the latter heading is one defining how the constitution 
may be amended. A large majority of the states provide 
for amendment by conventions, the members of which are 
elected for that purpose. Again, in nearly all states, the 
legislatures may propose amendments, which are then 
voted upon, for adoption or rejection, at regular or special 
elections ; also, recently, some states amend through 
popular initiative and referendum. A state constitution 
is the organic supreme law of the commonwealth, and to it 
the statute laws of the state must conform. 

State Legislatures. — Composition. — When the Revolu- 
tion began, all colonies except Pennsylvania and Georgia 
had bicameral legislatures, and the members were chosen 
by the people. With but a few exceptions, the lower house 
is called the house of representatives ; it has the larger 
number of members, and, except in a very few states, the 
members serve for two years. The upper chamber is 
always called the senate, and the length of a senatorial 
term is, in a great majority of states, four years, one half 
going out each two years. The two houses together are 
referred to as the legislature, the general assembly, or gen- 
eral court. The number of representatives varies from 
thirty-five in Delaware to about four hundred in New 
Hampshire ; the number of senators from seventeen in 
Delaware to sixty-three in Minnesota. Except that repre- 
sentatives may in most states be chosen at a younger age, 
and may have a shorter period of residence than senators, 
the qualifications for membership of the two houses are 
about the same. By law or custom each must live in the 
district from which he is chosen, the senatorial district 
naturally being the larger. 



306 the States and local government 

Districting the state. — Generally it is provided in the 
state constitution that a legislative district for either house 
must be composed of contiguous territory, and that coun- 
ties may not be divided unless entitled to more than one 
representation. Redistricting of the state is generally 
done by the legislature soon after each federal census re- 
port ; hence, as the population of a state increases, a mem- 
ber of its legislature represents more people. When it is 
found that the political map, as of a legislative district, or 
congressional district, or of a whole state, is so arranged 
" that the voting districts are unfairly or abnormally 
arranged, for the purpose of advancing the interests of a 
particular party or candidate," it is said to have been 
gerrymandered. 

Sessions. — Each state, either by statute or by its 
constitution, sets the time for the meeting of the legislature 
or general assembly. Annual sessions were formerly uni- 
versal, but now only a very few states hold them, notably 
New York and Massachusetts ; in most of the states the 
sessions are held every two years. The legislature meets at 
the capitol of the state, and the session generally lasts 
sixty days, though in some states it lasts longer, and in 
some it is limited to- forty days. The governor may call 
the legislature into special session if he deems it necessary, 
or, in some states, the legislature itself may adjourn for a 
time and then reconvene. In many states, when the 
governor calls a special session of the legislature, he must 
state specifically what he wants done, and only that busi- 
ness may be taken up. The pay is generally a certain 
per diem while in session only, but many states pay an 
annual salary. It is an admitted fact that the important 
work of law making is too often left to inferior and mediocre 



THE STATE GOVERNMENTS 307 

men, the pay for service in the legislature being too small 
to tempt men of exceptional ability, 

Organization and legislative powers. — The legislature 
is organized much as is the Federal Congress. The lieu- 
tenant governor in most states is president of the senate, 
and the house chooses its speaker. In both bodies stand- 
ing committees are appointed, to which bills are referred 
when introduced. In most states a majority of the mem- 
bers in each house constitutes a quorum. Bills must be 
reported from committees and pass both houses before 
they are sent to the governor. The committee system has 
its advantages in allowing more bills to be considered and 
carefully examined, but it also affords great opportunities 
for the corrupt lobbyists and special interests to exert their 
influence. Lobbyists, sometimes called the " third house," 
are of two classes : the good lobbyists who use their moral 
influence only for measures that will benefit the whole 
state, and the corrupt lobbyist who uses sinister influence 
to defeat helpful legislation by threats and bribes. This 
" third house " has led to a general distrust of all legisla- 
tures. The powers of the two houses are practically the 
same, but in some states bills for revenue can originate 
only in the lower house. The lower house also has the 
sole power to impeach, with the senate acting as the jury. 
In New York, the judges of the court of appeals sit with the 
senate in impeachment cases. In short, the duty of the 
legislature is to pass any needful legislation for the best and 
highest interest of the state. 

Prior to 1913, joint sessions of the legislature elected 
United States senators in each state. In some states, 
certain state officials are chosen in joint session. 

Restrictions on legislation. — Some restrictions on legis- 



308 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

lation are found in every state, though they vary somewhat 
in the different states. In accordance with the Federal 
Constitution, legislatures are prohibited by their state 
constitutions from granting titles of nobility, making trea- 
ties, coining money, etc. In many states special legislation 
is specifically forbidden. Private and political rights are 
well guarded. Owing to public mistrust, the tendency at 
present is perhaps to restrict legislatures too much. Such 
an attitude is inconsistent in a progressive democracy. 
The remedy would seem to be to make shorter and less 
cumbersome constitutions, to quit the unjust and indis- 
criminate condemning of all legislatures, and to demand 
higher qualifications for those whom we elect to this office. 

The governor's veto. — In almost all states the governor 
is given the veto power. After a bill has been reported 
from a committee, discussed, amended, and read three 
times, it is put before the house. If it receives a majority 
of the votes of that body, it is ordered engrossed and is then 
sent to the other house, where the same process is gone 
through. If the last house which receives the bill concurs 
with the one originating it, it is sent to the governor ; 
if not, it is rejected or sent back with amendments. If 
the bill reaches the governor, he may sign it or veto it ; if 
he vetoes it, he sends it back to the house where it orig- 
inated, with his objections. The bill may still become a 
law if it is passed over the governor's veto by a majority, 
generally two thirds of both houses. If we could get 
stronger, abler representatives in our state legislatures, 
the governor's veto would perhaps become obsolete. 
Under the present conditions it still serves as a useful check 
on hasty, sometimes vicious, legislation. 

The Executive of the State. — In every state in the 



THE STATE GOVERNMENTS 309 

Union the chief executive officer is the governor, and vari- 
ous minor officials assist. In nearly half of the states the 
governor, who is always chosen directly by the voters, is 
elected for four years ; in one state, for three years ; in 
two states, for one year ; in all the other states, for a two- 
year term. In nearly all the states the election is by a 
plurality of the votes, but in a few the legislature elects 
in case there is no popular majority. Some minor officials 
of a state are elected in the same manner as the governor ; 
many are appointed by the governor ; and in a few states 
some are appointed by the legislature. The governor 
and other state officers not appointive, are' nominated 
by a state convention of delegates, or by a state- wide pri- 
mary. 

The Governor. — The governor, as the first official of 
the state, receives a salary varying from $2,500 to $10,000 
a year; in Illinois his salary is $12,000. In addition to 
seeing that the laws of the state are enforced, he has the 
following duties : — 

1. He sends a message each session to the state legis- 
lature, in which he discusses the condition and needs of 
the state generally, and makes recommendations for appro- 
priate legislation. The legislature, however, does as it 
pleases with the governor's recommendations, though it 
usually conforms with them, at least in part. He may also 
send special messages. 

2. He may call a special session of the legislature, if he 
deems it advisable. 

3. He exercises the veto power, except in one state of 
the Union, where he is denied its use. 

4. He is the commander of the state militia, and may send 
it where local authorities cannot preserve peace. 



3IO THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

5. He appoints a number of minor officials in the state. 

6. He has, as a rule, the power to pardon or reprieve 
criminals, but in many states this power is shared with a 
board. 

The Lieutenant Governor. — In most states this official 
is elected for the same term as the governor, with a per 
diem payment while the legislature is in session, or he re- 
ceives an annual salary. Though president of the senate, 
his influence is not especially great, his office bearing the 
same relation to the state as that of the Vice President 
to the United States. In most states the lieutenant gov- 
ernor succeeds the governor in case of the latter's death or 
resignation. 

Other Executive State Officials. — These officials vary 
in the states in name and number, but the chief adminis- 
trative officials are about the same, with like duties ; and 
almost all of them have a number of secretaries, clerks, and 
assistants as helpers. 

The secretary of state places the seal of the state on 
all authentic documents, publishes the laws, draws up com- 
missions for public officers, and performs many other simi- 
lar duties. 

The auditor, or comptroller, serves as the state's public 
accountant and bookkeeper. He must keep a record 
of all the state's income, and of all appropriations and 
expenditures. In this capacity he serves as a check to 
the treasurer. 

The treasurer receives and has charge of all the state's 
money, which he disburses under the auditor's direction. 

The attorney -general is the state's legal adviser. He 
advises any state officer when called upon to do so, and 
represents the state in any legal transaction. To-day, 



THE STATE GOVERNMENTS 31I 

owing to great business activity, and lax observance of law, 
the office of the attorney-general has become more respon- 
sible and important. 

Besides these officials, some states have a state statisti- 
cian, mine inspector, game warden, forestry inspector, 
geologist, and other officers. Most states have a super- 
intendent of public instruction. This officer, it is com- 
monly conceded, is the only one who usually does not re- 
ceive consideration commensurate with the importance of 
his services. 

Relations of Various Executive Officials. — The chief 
officers of the state have some interrelated powers, but, on 
the whole, are virtually independent of one another. All 
are usually elected by the people ; hence even the minor 
state officers have been independent of the governor in 
times past, although submitting reports to him at stated 
times. Recently, however, a tendency has been widely 
manifested to increase the power of the governor over 
minor state executive officials. Naturally, in a well- 
ordered administration, there should be coordination, 
counsel, and harmonious action on the part of the state 
officials in order to get the best results. 

As yet, only a few states such as New York, Massa- 
chusetts, and Wisconsin, have adopted a civil service 
system applying to clerkships and assistants. This seems 
strange, since this would be the surest way to prevent the 
public from suffering wholesale shifting of officials with 
the change of administrations, such as was common under 
the old spoils system. There is room here for great reform 
in our state civil service, as well as in that of the nation. 

State Boards. — In every state there are certain boards 
whose members are appointed by the governor or by the 



312 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

legislature, or both, that greatly assist in the executive 
work of the state. Among these boards are : the board 
of health, the board of agriculture, the tax board, the in- 
surance, pardons, prisons, and railroad commissioners. 
The powers of these boards vary in different states. Gen- 
erally, they are responsible to the governor, but sometimes 
to the legislature. Some members of these boards are paid 
good salaries, but many of them receive little or no pay for 
their work, it being considered an honor to serve the state 
in this capacity. 

Present Influence of State Officials. — While all state 
officers are doing a necessary work for the public service, 
the work of a majority of them is largely clerical. Mr. 
Bryce, in treating of our state governments, shows that 
the power and influence of the governor has largely de- 
clined, owing to the increased power of the legislature and 
the development of local government, but adds that he is 
not yet quite a nonentity. 1 Since 1900, many states have 
greatly increased the powers of their governors; notably, 
Alabama, Kansas, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Virginia. To-day 
a governor who is a leader and a man of force can secure 
the passing of almost any reform measure he wishes if he 
arouses public sentiment in its favor. The initiative and 
referendum, to be discussed later, has a tendency to weaken 
the governor's influence somewhat, but not seriously. 
On the other hand, the growth of our great public and pri- 
vate business enterprises of to-day increases the responsi- 
bility of the governor and therefore his power, or should 
do so, if he properly guards the rights of the public. The 
old states' rights questions are arising every day. The 

1 Bryce : " The American Commonwealth," I (3d ed.), 494-498. Cf. Kaye, 
265-271. 



THE STATE GOVERNMENTS 313 

attorney-general, the state superintendent of public in- 
struction, and boards dealing with health, conservation of 
resources, and transportation, have a greater constructive 
work before them than ever before, and they find their 
power growing. 

The State Judiciary. Selection and term of judges. — 
In the early history of our country, judges higher than 
those of the petty local courts were appointed either by 
the governor or by the legislature. But, early in the nine- 
teenth century, Mississippi led off in the election of judges 
by popular vote, and to-day in most of the states the judges 
are elected by the people. In some of the other states 
they are appointed by the governor, in others by the legis- 
lature. At first the term of a judge was during good be- 
havior, or, in some cases, was limited to seventy years of 
age. Gradually this was changed, until to-day judges 
are limited to a term of years in all states except Massachu- 
setts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, where they 
hold office for life, or during good behavior. Gradually 
the length of the judicial term was shortened until the lat- 
ter part of the nineteenth century. At present the tend- 
ency is decidedly to lengthen it, except in some of the 
Western states, where the people may recall them for 
cause. 

Supreme Court. — The constitutions of all the states 
provide for a high court of final review and appeal. In 
most states this is called the supreme court ; bat in Ken- 
tucky and a few other states it is known as the court of 
appeals. The supreme court sits at the state capital in 
nearly every state, but in a few it holds sessions also at 
other places in the commonwealth for the convenience of 
the public. Ordinarily it has from five to seven members, 



314 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

elected in nearly all states for a specified term of years. 
These elections are generally so arranged that only a part 
of the court is elected at any one time. This insures 
stability and consequently greater efficiency. This court's 
business is nearly all appellate, but it has some original 
jurisdiction. In Texas there are two supreme courts, one 
for criminal cases only, the other for civil cases. The de- 
cision of a supreme court is final, and, unless there is some 
violation of a federal statute or of the Federal Constitution, 
its decision stands as the law of the state. 

In New York the supreme court is the name given to a 
court corresponding to the circuit court in other states ; it 
is intermediate between the county court and the highest 
court, which is called the court of appeals. 

Other courts. — Below the supreme court in rank are 
the county courts and the district or circuit courts, and 
lowest of all are the courts held by justices of the peace. 
In a few states, also, an appellate court has been created 
to relieve the supreme court of part of its work. It hears 
certain kinds of cases on appeals or writ of error only. Its 
decision is final, except in a few cases, where the state 
constitution allows a further appeal to the supreme court. 

Connected with courts are found a number of assistants, 
such as reporters, clerks, and stenographers, some of whom 
are elected by the people, while the minor ones are appointed 
by the court itself. 

Relation of state courts to federal judiciary. — Thus it 
is seen that each state has different courts with duties de- 
fined by the state constitution or state statutes ; also, that 
an important case may be tried successively in two or more 
of them before it is finally adjusted. The federal courts 
also operate in every state, and each state comprises one 



THE STATE GOVERNMENTS 315 

or more districts for the United States District Court. 
It should be noted, however, that the federal and the 
state courts are entirely independent of one another, and 
that each has its own officials and meeting places. In 
important cases, however, a citizen may file a suit in the 
federal court after it has been heard in the highest tribunal 
of a state, but only when it can be shown that a federal 
law is involved, or when he feels that the decision of the 
state court is contrary to the United States Constitution. 
Neither can the acts of a court of one state be binding on 
the courts of another state, though their decisions are 
constantly quoted ; however, if a matter is settled in one 
state, and the party concerned in the suit moves to another 
state, by Article IV, Section 1, of the Federal Constitu- 
tion, he cannot become involved again for the same cause 
before adjudicated. 

Increased Importance of State Courts. — The more 
complex our life becomes, and the more intricate our busi- 
ness interests are, the more important the courts become. 
The right of a supreme court to declare an act of the legis- 
lature null and void gives it great importance and dignity ; 
again, when a statute of importance is closely examined and 
carefully weighed, the supreme court gives its decision and 
analyzes the statute, and the interpretation of the supreme 
court establishes the law. In this way the rulings of the 
supreme court in the various states, supplement, in a 
large measure, the action of the legislatures. 

Danger to Courts. — There is constant danger to the 
courts in almost every locality. This is often due to the 
fact that judges have short terms and hence must partic- 
ipate in frequent elections from which they do not al- 
ways escape with clean hands ; then, too, patronage is to 



316 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

be given out, and this is an element of danger ; and, again, 
salaries are small, much too small in some states to attract 
the best lawyers. In some communities good lawyers will 
not accept judgeships since it means financial sacrifice, and 
very often precludes advancement in the legal profession. 
Serious dangers sometimes confront our state judiciary 
from allowing business to accumulate on account of the 
dilatory tactics of the lawyers. A great amount of the 
state's money is often squandered in this way and the 
real issue dodged and justice evaded by mere technicalities. 
Courts have themselves largely to blame if the public 
sometimes becomes distrustful, and if law is not observed 
as it should be. In business methods and in the expedi- 
tion of affairs before them, our state courts have frequently 
not kept up with our rapid, progressive life. In this criti- 
cism it must be observed that the public desires the courts 
to be revered above every institution we have, and wants 
their decisions respected and held sacred. The law gov- 
erning them is generally good, or may be made so ; and 
to the lav/ and the courts we must look for the safety of 
every public interest. 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

Beard : American Citizenship, ch. IX. 
Beard : American Government and Politics, ch. XXV. 
Boynton : School Civics, chs. XIV, XVIII. 
Bryce : The American Commonwealth, I (3d ed.), ch. XLII. 
Channing: Students' History of the United States, rev. ed., 131- 
146; 176-184. 

Fiske : Civil Government, 140-146. 

Forman : Advanced Civics, ch. VIII. 

Garner : Government in the United States, chs. IV, V, VI. 

Guitteau: Government and Politics, 74-129 ; 172-207. 

Hinsdale: American Government (4th ed.), 117-124; 369-391. 



THE STATE GOVERNMENTS 317 

James and Sanford : Government in State and Xation, rev. ed., 
9-26. 

Kaye : Readings in Civil Government. 74-92 ; 261-303. 

Wilson: The State, rev. ed., sec. 1147-1172. 

Source Material and Supplementary Aids. — Your state constitu- 
tion. The legislative manual of your state. Get copies of your gov- 
ernor's inaugural address ; of his veto messages. Procure copies of 
the last general assembly's statutes. Get bills and resolutions which 
were introduced into your legislature. 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. Which limited a state more, the Articles of Confederation, or 
the Constitution? Why? 

2. How do states change their constitutions ? 

3. How many members in your general assembly? How many 
representatives ? How many senators ? 

4. Who determines how the state is districted for the legislature ? 
How done ? When done ? 

5. How long are the sessions of your legislature? Who is your 
representative? Your senator? Terms of each? 

6. Duties of the legislature? 

7. What is a lobbyist ? Are all lobbyists evil? Why? 

8. Why do not better men go to the legislatures? Suggest 
methods for remedying this condition. 

9. Give chief duties of your state officials. 

10. What are the relations between the various state officials of 
legislative, executive, and judicial departments? 

11. Which are your highest courts ? Duties of each ? What rela- 
tion has your highest state court to your circuit courts? To the 
United States Federal Courts? 

12. Why are courts sometimes criticized rather severely? Sug- 
gest remedies for reforming courts and keeping confidence in their 
power to secure justice. 

QUESTION FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That the judges of the supreme court of a state should 
be appointed for long terms by the governor. 



CHAPTER XXTI 
CONTROLLING POWERS OF THE STATE 

The Employment of Force. — When the Federal Con- 
stitution was adopted, the police power was left to the 
states, and there it remains. Under ordinary circum- 
stances, the local authorities created by the state are able 
to maintain order and provide for the public welfare; if 
they are not able to do this, the state authorities assist. 

The State Militia. — The organized militia of the 
several states, as stated elsewhere, is called the national 
guard. It is a citizen soldiery drilled at stated times and in- 
spected by officers of the regular army when all the state's 
militia is in camp during the summer for military exercises, 
at which time it is under the same rules and regulations as 
the regular army. The militia elects its own officers, and 
is equipped by the secretary of war. In case of need, 
it may be called into service by the President. There are 
over ioo,oco men in the national guard. These men attend 
to their ordinary civil duties, except for the few evenings 
required for drilling and the few days of encampment. 
If the police power of a city or the sheriff of a county is 
unable to preserve peace, every state provides that some 
officer, nearly always the sheriff, shall call upon the governor 
for aid. The governor inquires into the situation, and if 
he deems it advisable, employs the militia, or part of it. 
Should the militia of the state not be able to cope with a 
riot, strike, or similar disorder, the governor may call upon 

318 



CONTROLLING POWERS OF THE STATE 319 

the President, who orders federal troops to assist the 
national guardsmen. 

Who Are the Citizens of a State ? — Nearly all states 
require citizenship of the voters, but some states allow a 
foreigner to vote upon the declaration of intention to be- 
come an American citizen. There is considerable differ- 
ence in the time required for citizenship in the various 
states, especially of immigrants ; but all require a fixed 
period of residence in the state, and also in the county 
and the precinct. Immigration will be discussed more 
at length in connection with the city. As has been pointed 
out, Congress regulates immigration and naturalization, 
but the state controls suffrage. Very often lax laws and 
their nonenforcement cause difficulties when the question 
arises as to who may vote and who is entitled to the rights 
of a citizen. Educational and even property qualifica- 
tions are required of voters by some states, in order to 
safeguard the ballot, and in many states a longer period 
of residence is being required of naturalized foreigners than 
formerly. While we invite and need good immigrants, 
it would be better for the states, and for the immigrants, 
if the right to vote were not granted too hastily and easily. 

Control of Nominations and Elections. — Strict laws are 
necessary to control elections. The terms of officers of 
the township, city, county, and state are short, hence elec- 
tions are frequent. Two methods of nomination have 
sprung up and are in use in different states : the convention 
and the primary. In some states it is provided that a 
candidate may be voted for if a petition signed by a certain 
number of voters is properly filed. In a small unit, like 
a ward or township, all citizens may meet in mass conven- 
tion and vote to nominate their candidates ; also, while 



320 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

so assembled, they select delegates to a county convention, 
if the candidates for county officers are to be named by 
a convention ; again, generally at this ward or township 
convention, delegates are selected to attend the congres- 
sional district and the state conventions. The number 
of delegates to which a county is entitled in a congressional 
or state convention is regulated by law and party machin- 
ery. The delegates to the various conventions receive 
no pay for their services. At a certain date agreed upon 
by the party organization, county and state officers are 
nominated. 

Much criticism has been made of the convention system, 
since it allows great opportunities for intrigue and sharp 
practice on the part of crafty politicians. As a result, the 
primary has arisen, whereby any one may offer himself 
for any office, and the one receiving a majority of the votes 
of his party is declared the nominee. The primary method 
is being extended, and, while it is not perfect, it is demo- 
cratic. At present many states apply it to the selection 
of all state officers and for the nomination of congressmen, 
senators, and even to delegates for presidential nominating 
conventions. All states must, and now do, regulate both 
nominations and elections by strict laws. The manner 
of holding elections, however, differs somewhat, but every- 
where secrecy of the ballot is secured for the protection 
and independence of the voters. Political parties and 
their machinery are discussed more fully in another chapter. 

Woman Suffrage. — The woman suffrage movement is 
gaining in strength in the United States. Already nine 
states have granted women the right to vote on equal 
terms with men in all elections, and in many others, about 
one half of the states in all, they may vote for school 



CONTROLLING POWERS OF THE STATE 3 21 

officers. At the present rate of growth, it would seem that 
the movement, whether for ultimate good or not, will soon 
win in a majority of states. The subject of woman suffrage 
has aroused ardent champions and strong opponents, 
the arguments of whom may be read and heard every- 
where. 

Temperance and Prohibition. — Justice Cooley says 
prohibition laws " are looked upon as police regulations 
established by the legislature for the prevention of intem- 
perance, pauperism, and crime, and for the abatement of 
nuisances." x States attempt to regulate the liquor traffic 
on the basis of safety and public morals, but methods vary. 
As early as 1851, Maine led off with a prohibitory law 
against the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquor, 
except for scientific and medicinal purposes, and at present 
that state, Kansas, North Dakota, and Oklahoma, have 
constitutional provisions to the same effect. About as 
many other states also, at present, have statutes prohibiting 
the manufacture and sale of liquor ; and about half the 
states in the Union have local option, by which cities, 
towns, townships, and counties may, by a direct vote, pro- 
hibit the sale of liquor. The liquor problem is a very hard 
one to handle and it seems must be settled slowly. There 
are many law-abiding citizens engaged in liquor traffic, 
but the retail liquor trade attracts a class of men often of 
a type who have no regard for law or regulations. Laws 
can be enforced only if public sentiment is behind them ; 
hence poor results come if prohibition is forced upon a 
community unfavorable to it. In a situation of that sort 
illicit traffic goes on which is often worse than the open 
saloon. Where high license, which varies from $300 to 

1 Cooley : " Constitutional Limitation," 718. 



322 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

$1,200, prevails, the worst element is shut out of the saloon 
business and police control is much easier ; hence this is 
often offered as a better solution than prohibition. This, 
however, is open to question. A difference of opinion 
exists as to how best to bring about a better social and 
temperate community everywhere. Even the liquor deal- 
ers themselves see that law-breaking and disreputable men 
are the worst possible enemies of the business. Conditions, 
such as have obtained in the past, can never exist again. 
Whether it be by state- wide prohibition, or local option, 
the state will eventually solve intemperance through the 
general uplift of its citizens to right thinking and right 
living. 

The Divorce Evil. — The divorce problem is sociological, 
and one that comes within the jurisdiction of the state. 
At present, every state except South Carolina has its 
divorce laws, but there is no uniformity in these laws and 
the system in general is chaotic. Some states make it 
exceedingly difficult to obtain a divorce, others make it 
ridiculously easy. Some require a long residence before 
a divorce is granted ; others a short one only ; some states 
prohibit divorced persons from marrying again, while in 
others they may marry again at once. In spite of the 
fact that divorce has become so common, even among promi- 
nent people, it is still true that almost every divorce suit 
means a scandal; the home is broken up, and innocent 
children are placed in a situation which often mars their 
lives. Chicago has recently created a court known as 
" The Court of Domestic Relations," whose duty it is to 
hear domestic troubles and to adjust them, if possible, 
without granting a divorce. The causes and various pro- 
posed remedies of the divorce evil cannot be discussed here. 



CONTROLLING POWERS OF THE STATE 323 

but the subject is one that demands our deepest and best 
thought. Whatever may be the final solution, greater care 
should be exercised by the state in its marriage laws, and 
there should be state uniformity in granting divorces. 

Labor Legislation. — To protect laborers, especially 
women and children, is the duty of the state. Nearly 
all states now have child-labor laws, since children are being 
employed in some industries because they are more nimble 
than adults and work for smaller wages, but the result, 
frequently, is men and women deformed in body and 
undeveloped in mind. Nearly all the states appoint 
factory and mine inspectors to look after the welfare of 
the employees, and about two thirds of them have a state 
labor bureau. Prior to the Civil War labor unions and 
organizations were small and weak, but to-day there are 
about two million men in the unions. About one fourth 
of the labor of manufactures and of railroads is unionized. 
The object of the union has been to secure shorter hours 
of labor, better light and sanitation in factories and shops, 
a better wage, and fairer treatment for employees. The 
national government has helped organized labor, in partic- 
ular, through allowing national trade unions to be in- 
corporated, and has limited the hours per day on public 
works to eight ; also, through the organization of a cabinet 
position which now gives all its time to considering labor's 
problems and its general uplift. This official is a great 
aid to the states in dealing with their labor problems. 

Labor and Capital. — The greatest demand of labor 
everywhere is a wage commensurate with the productive 
value of the output. Who shall determine what this 
wage shall be? Here is often the cause of serious trouble. 
Capital rarely pays in wages what it could do and still 



324 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

make a fair profit. Again, labor organizations demand, 
at times, a wage that an establishment cannot pay and 
compete with its rivals in the same business. Then comes 
industrial warfare. Picketing, the boycott, and the strike 
are the leading weapons of organized labor in their demands 
for higher wage, and in their attempt to keep industries 
from employing other than union labor. All these 
methods are growing less frequent; and it is well, for the 
strike, especially, has resulted frequently in the destruction 
of life and property, in loss of wages to the laborers, and in 
social demoralization to the community. Both labor and 
capital are beginning to understand that a third party, 
consisting of the public generally, should be considered. 
Where public sympathy goes, there is generally the right. 
About one third of the states have boards of arbitration 
composed of employers and employees, so that when labor 
disputes arise an investigation occurs, but these boards 
cannot make a settlement unless both sides to the contro- 
versy agree to rest the case in their hands. It will be seen 
that the state has a heavy duty on hand to provide all 
possible safeguards for the rights of capital and labor, and 
so to legislate that there will be no injustice done by either ; 
also, to see that there shall be industrial peace. 

Crime and Penal Institutions. — The punishment of 
crime under our system belongs almost wholly to the state. 
It is true the federal government defines certain crimes, 
such as counterfeiting, and is constantly defining new 
crimes and creating penalties. Most crimes, however, 
are punished by the states, generally under laws passed by 
the legislature, but occasionally under the common law, 
which is in force in nearly all the states in cases not covered 
by statutes. In general, anything is considered a crime that 



CONTROLLING POWERS OF THE STATE 325 

is declared to be injurious to organized society and which 
has been prohibited by law. No attempt is made here to 
give the causes of crime, nor the remedies for it, but the pur- 
pose is to state briefly the position and duty of the state 
in the matter. The purpose in apprehending a criminal 
and pimishing him was formerly vengeance ; now it is to 
protect society and reform the culprit. Crimes are in- 
vestigated by grand juries, and arrests made by sheriffs 
and constables in counties, and in cities by a police and 
detective force ; courts and juries organized under state 
law hear the evidence and render decisions. History shows 
that severe punishment has not lessened crime, and so 
the more recent theory is to grade and classify prisoners 
according to age and the degree of the offense, and to try 
to reform them. To that end prisons and reformatories 
have schools where inmates are taught trades, and all are 
made to labor. Sentences, except for the more heinous 
crimes, are made indeterminate ; that is, a minimum and 
a maximum penalty are imposed. Through good behavior, 
a prisoner may be paroled by a board prescribed by law, 
after he has served his minimum sentence. Competent 
authorities have estimated that crime in the United States 
costs the state and national governments about $200,000,- 
000 annually, an amount almost as large as that spent for 
education ; and one authority estimates the loss which 
criminals inflict upon society at £400,000,000 annually. 
From 1890 to 19 10, it is maintained by competent authori- 
ties, there were more murders committed in the United 
States than there were Union soldiers killed in action during 
the Civil War. Juries and courts are much too lax in 
punishment in many criminal cases, and some prisons are 
made so pleasant that men are but little alarmed at the 



326 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

prospective sentence. In many states juvenile courts are 
set up to reform criminally inclined children and youths. 
These courts will be discussed under city government. 

Initiative and Referendum. — All states may amend 
their constitutions in some manner provided in the docu- 
ment itself. In a few states, notably Oregon and Colorado, 
eight per cent of the voters may propose a constitutional 
amendment ; and if a majority of those voting on the 
proposed amendment are favorable, it becomes a part of 
the state constitution forthwith. This method is called 
the initiative. It means simply that the people, or a speci- 
fied part of them, may propose a measure, — or ordinance, 
a statute law, or a constitutional amendment, — which 
is submitted to the whole electorate for adoption or rejec- 
tion. The referendum likewise gives the people of a state 
or city, or a specified part of them, the power to suspend 
a law or ordinance passed by a state legislature or city 
council, so that the whole electorate can vote on it and 
decide whether it shall be adopted. In the two states 
mentioned above, eight per cent of the voters may petition 
to have any proposed legislation submitted to the people ; 
five per cent of the voters may compel any law passed by 
the legislature to be referred to the people. The danger 
of proposing both constitutional amendments and laws 
in this way lies in getting too many of each before the people 
at one time for proper consideration. In the election of 
19 10, the voters of Oregon had to vote on twenty proposed 
statutes and twelve constitutional amendments, one of 
which had thirty-six sections. However, a pamphlet of 
two hundred and two pages explaining each, giving the 
arguments for and against each measure, had been in the 
hands of the voters a few months before the election. It 



CONTROLLING POWERS OF THE STATE 327 

will be noted at once that by this method the form of our 
government is fundamentally changed, to some extent, 
as the people may govern directly instead of through 
representation ; but nearly all the laws are still made by 
the legislature, the new methods being used chiefly as a 
means of control in exceptional cases. The system has 
worked well in Switzerland for a long time, but Switzer- 
land is a very small country, and its people have had many 
centuries of political training. 

It is too early to see what may be the result of this manner 
of direct legislation in this country, but it need not be 
alarming ; it is an interesting experiment, and if proved 
harmful, the people will correct it. The success of this 
system may be doubtful in its application to large areas, 
where the people may not take sufficient interest in public 
affairs to inquire who is originating certain measures and 
what the measures really mean. Again, when harmful 
laws are passed, it is hard to locate responsibility for evil, 
and hence the system tends to keep the people unsettled. 
The referendum is no novelty, for, in submitting constitu- 
tional amendments to the people of the states, in leaving 
the liquor question to a township or county in local option, 
in allowing a subsidy tax for a railroad, and in many other 
ways, the referendum has long been in practical use in 
most of the states. The initiative principle has been exer- 
cised in a lesser degree in the allowing of elections to be 
held upon certain questions by petition, or by nominating 
a man for an office by petition. By 191 2 the initiative 
and referendum had been adopted in some form in Arkansas, 
Colorado, California, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, Montana, 
Nevada, Oregon, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and 
Utah, the most radical being in California, Oregon, and 



328 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

South Dakota. About half of the states have the referen- 
dum for some or all of their cities, particularly in granting 
franchises. 

The Recall. — What is known as the recall goes even 
further toward pure democracy than the initiative and 
referendum. Under it, a certain fixed percentage of the 
people, varying from five to twenty-five per cent, may hie 
objections to an official, and he must submit to another elec- 
tion with other candidates, before the end of his term. 
If he wins, he continues to serve ; if he loses, he is removed, 
and the successful candidate assumes his position. In 
Seattle a mayor was recalled in 191 1 for non enforcement of 
the law. In the Arizona constitution, presented to Con- 
gress in 191 1, the recall applied to judges, as well as other 
officers, and the bill admitting it as a state was vetoed by 
the President, mainly for the reason that he felt the 
recall of judges to be dangerous. The constitution of 
Arizona having been amended by omitting the recall of 
judges, the state was duly admitted. But then, by the 
regular process of amendment, the provision was again in- 
serted in the constitution. California also has an amended 
constitution permitting the recall of judges. In dissatis- 
faction against courts the attempt is made to regulate them 
by the recall. 

Conservation of Natural Resources. — Soil. — As the time 
is almost at hand when the United States must cease food 
exportation so that its products may be used to feed our 
own population, it is high time we were trying to conserve 
our soil. In this effort the national government encourages 
the states through the department of agriculture and in 
other ways. The states, also, are encouraging the improv- 
ing of the soil and intensive cultivation, in many ways, 



CONTROLLING POWERS OF THE STATE 329 

and, since our wealth all comes at first hand from the soil, 
too much encouragement cannot be given. State agri- 
cultural colleges are doing excellent work in training young 
men in scientific' farming, in stock raising, and in forestry. 
Young women are trained in these schools, also, especially 
in dairying. The common schools of many states are mak- 
ing a course in practical agriculture compulsory. Many 
states, too, give money for farmers' institutes, to be held 
in each county, where many practical problems are dis- 
cussed.- Never before has there been so much interest 
in country life, nor has there ever been so much chance for 
great usefulness on the farm as now, for educated men and 
women. All this means a conservation of the soil, a lessen- 
ing of the high cost of living, and more thrift for the state 
if it be a good husbandman. 

Irrigation. — The federal government has, since 1902, 
been aiding in irrigating arid lands in some of the Western 
states. Large tracts of arid land have thus been redeemed 
and sold to settlers, who pay for the land and water privi- 
leges in easy payments. The same policy is carried out 
by some of the states in redeeming arid and swamp lands. 
Sometimes there has been a question of the right of a state, 
where a river flows through more than one state, to use 
water for reclamation, but this right has been defined by 
the Supreme Court. There is now a widespread demand 
that water power be leased. Many states are adding much 
hitherto uncultivated land to their productive area, and 
thus are aiding in increasing our national social dividend 
of supplies. 

Forest and mineral resources. — Some states are at present 
taking steps to save forests, oil, and mines. Many states 
are encouraging the planting of forests. All should do 



330 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

this for the sake of the timber and for a saving of the 
soil for the future general welfare. 

The federal government has also begun the policy of 
reserving forests and mineral tracts. The waste of coal has 
been enormous. It is estimated that if the output of that 
mineral continues to increase proportionately as it has in 
the last few decades, and the same waste keeps on, our pres- 
ent known supply of coal will be exhausted in one hundred 
years. Petroleum areas are rapidly weakening in their 
supply, and if the output keeps on at its present increase, 
it is estimated that the known supply will be exhausted by 

!935- 

Conservation is a problem for the states. In 1908 
the governors of the states held their first general con- 
ference, and gave much consideration to the problem of 
conserving the country's natural wealth. Spurred on by 
present economic conditions, and by the activity of the 
federal government, the states are at last awakening to 
the importance of this great problem in economics. It is 
not clear just how far the federal government may make 
reservations within a state, for this raises the question of 
states' rights in the new form, but there is much for the 
states to do in the conservation of their resources, and if 
it is well done by them, the federal government probably 
will not interfere. 

State Control of Public Service Corporations and Trusts. 
— An important question at present is the power of the 
state over corporations. The federal government may 
create and regulate corporations, such as national banks, 
and interstate railroads, but most of the corporations are 
chartered by the states. A charter is granted under state 
law by the secretary of state after an examination of the 



CONTROLLING POWERS OF THE STATE 33 1 

purposes of the new organization shows that the law in 
regard thereto is complied with. Such corporations as 
banks, insurance companies, railroads, and mining com- 
panies, operating within a state, frequently have special 
charter requirements to meet, since they need close super- 
vision. 

Just where the dividing line is between the private rights 
of the corporations which manufacture and, in a large 
measure, control almost everything the public consumes, 
and where the state shall step in for what it considers 
the security of the public, is a very difficult question. 
States grant charters to great combinations of capital 
and try to regulate them, but in many suits, recently, the 
rulings of the lower federal courts and the interstate com- 
merce commission, have been against the state laws. 
When railroads show in federal courts that a passenger 
rate fixed by a state railroad commission is too low for 
profit and is confiscatory, the state law is declared null 
and void. On the other hand, the restrictions of some of 
the states on corporations, such as the International Har- 
vester Company, with its control of farm machinery, and 
the Standard Oil Company in its monopoly, have been held 
valid by state and federal courts. 

At the present time, and especially since the Supreme 
Court has decided that only in unreasonable restraints 
in trade may a corporation be punished under the Sherman 
antitrust law of 1890, the power of the state over inter- 
state corporations is not clear. New York, Indiana, and 
Wisconsin have taken advanced ground, in appointing 
public service commissions to examine into the granting 
of franchises and the rights of corporations, and also to 
consider complaints of the public. Corporations have come 



332 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

to stay. In their nature they tend toward monopoly, 
which is always a risk. They deserve justice, nothing 
more nor less. The states should see that they get only 
that, and that the public interest is safeguarded. In this 
the federal government will unquestionably assist. 

Insurance. — - Every state to a considerable degree 
supervises both its fire and life insurance companies. Gen- 
erally, an officer known as an insurance commissioner, 
or a state board of commissioners, has charge of this work. 
Both fire and life insurance companies deposit with the 
state a reserve fund bearing a given ratio to the amount 
of insurance in force in the state. Wisconsin now has a 
law which furnishes life insurance to its citizens at cost. 
In Nebraska, a mother's pension system has been enacted, 
providing, under certain conditions, for a stipulated sum 
of money for the rearing and maintenance of children. 
The tendency in insurance at present is largely toward 
state control. 

Guaranty of Bank Deposits. — Oklahoma, one of the 
youngest of states, is the pioneer in guaranteeing the safety 
of bank deposits. It compels all state banking associations 
to contribute a fixed per cent for a reserve fund. This 
fund is drawn upon only when a bank fails. The law has 
not worked well in Oklahoma, perhaps largely due to the 
industrial and economic changes going on there. However, 
it has been amended so as to be more satisfactory. Kansas, 
Nebraska, and Texas also guarantee bank deposits. These 
states being older and more conservative, profiting by Okla- 
homa experience, have succeeded in so guarding their 
guaranty laws that they seem to be more satisfactory to 
both depositors and bankers. 

Good Roads. — Besides conserving the health of its cit- 



CONTROLLING POWERS OF THE STATE 333 

izens, perhaps no problem is of more vital interest to a 
state than the question of constructing and maintaining a 
system of well-graded, well-drained, and well-built roads. 
In this day of scientific agriculture and progress, farmers 
realize, as never before, the value of good roads. The good 
road may have a high initial cost, but it saves time, enhances 
the value of land, means quicker markets, better mail 
service, larger school attendance, and in every way a 
better community ; hence it is much the cheapest in the 
end. In nearly every state the question of how to improve 
highways permanently is receiving great attention. How 
to build wisely and economically is a question which needs 
careful attention from the state governments. The federal 
government has appropriated money to experiment on 
road improvement with state aid. The idea is to help 
cheapen and assist rural delivery of mails ; to set a standard 
in road building before the public ; and to aid rural uplift 
generally. 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

Beard : American Citizenship, chs. IX, XV. 

Bliss : Encyclopedia of Social Reform. (See special topics men- 
tioned in this chapter.) 

Bryce : The American Commonwealth (3d ed.), I, ch. XLIV. 

Forman : Advanced Civics, 360-393. 

Garner : Government in the United States, ch. V. 

Guitteau: Government and Politics, 129-172. 

Hart : Actual Government, ch. XXX. 

Hinsdale : The American Government (4th ed.), 392-399. 

Kaye : Readings in Civil Government, 261-3 11. 

Review of Reviews 39 : 57-62 ; 439-443 ; 41 ; 68-76. 

United States Bulletin No. 394 on Conservation (1909). 

World's Work 13 : 8333-83337. 

Source Material and Supplementary Aids. — Federal statutes on 
immigration and on the national guard can be obtained for the asking 



334 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

from the war and interior departments. Calls of county, district, and 
state chairmen for conventions or primaries for nominations of Candi- 
dates for the several offices. State statutes on divorce and liquor 
problems, and penal institutions may be procured. From the secre- 
tary of state in Oregon, copies of statutes on the initiative, referendum, 
and recall may be obtained. Any legislation on conserving mineral, 
timber, and water in your state can be obtained from your secretary 
of state. 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

i. Why is the police power left with the state? 

2. How many companies of the national guard has your state? 
Duties of? 

3. How is it determined who are a state's citizens? What is the 
law in your state ? 

4. How are county officers nominated in your county ? District 
officers as circuit judge, commonwealth's attorney, state senator, and 
congressman ? 

5. Find the leading arguments for and against woman suffrage. 

6. When only is temperance legislation effective? 

7. Why is the divorce question very hard to settle? Why do 
states vary in legislation on the subject ? 

8. What is the purpose of the labor union? 

9. Why is there strife between labor and capital? 

10. What is society's duty toward its criminal classes? 

11. State strong points for initiative, referendum, and recall. 

12. It is hard to distribute the laws on conservation of natural 
resources justly between the nation and states. Why? 

13. What may a state do to solve the trust and monopoly question ? 



QUESTIONS FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That the county is the best unit for voting to determine 
whether or not liquors shall be sold. 

Resolved, That labor unions should try to keep unorganized labor 
from working in any' industry. 

Resolved, That an amendment granting woman suffrage should be 
added to the Constitution of the United States. 



CHAPTER XXIII 
MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT 

Origin and Necessity of City Government. — As early 
as the Xorman period in England (1066-1154). London 
was granted a charter and special privileges, and during 
the thirteenth century many towns bought certain special 
rights and liberties from their feudal lords. The towns 
of England flourished, and developed good government 
which found its way to the English colonies in America. 
Modified forms of English municipal government slowly 
arose in the colonies. It will readily be seen that towns 
and cities grew slowly in colonial days. Even in 1790, 
when the fust census was taken, there were but six cities 
in all the colonies above Sooo in population. A munic- 
ipal corporation smaller than a city is styled a borough, as 
in Xew Jersey and Pennsylvania, a town (a corporate 
body different from a town or township hitherto discussed), 
or a village. Xew York was the first city in America to 
receive a charter. The colonial governors continued to 
grant city charters until 1750. Since the Revolution the 
states have granted city and town charters. 

It is obvious that whenever a population becomes dense, 
its problems are different from those of a thinly settled 
rural community, which may be readily governed under 
the regular township and county system. The town or 
city, with its factories, shops, stores, and residences, needs 
among other things more sidewalks, and more sewers ; 

355 



336 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

also a police force, lire protection, and many other things 
not necessary to a rural community. Industry and eco- 
nomic conditions drive people into the cities and there the 
problems of public welfare must be largely worked out. 
To that end the various states grant special privileges to 
the towns and cities so that they may meet their own pe- 
culiar local needs. Over forty-six per cent of the total pop- 
ulation of continental United States lived in towns and 
cities of over 2500 population in 1910. The increase in 
urban population over 1900 was over thirty-four per cent. 
The growth of urban population has been very rapid in 
America, in fact it has been so rapid that we have not learned 
how to care for it properly, and hence city government is 
the weakest phase of our governmental machinery. Some- 
thing of the rapidity of the growth of our cities may be 
seen in the story of Chicago. In 191 1 the first white person 
who was born in Chicago died. He had lived to see that 
city grow from an insignificant village to a city of over 
2,000,000 people. The census of 19 10 shows 1232 cities 
which had a population of over 5000. A great problem 
at present is to stop the rush from rural communities to 
cities. 

Villages, Towns, and Cities. — Densely settled communi- 
ties usually arise from good trading conditions ; the better 
commercial facilities are, the larger the population grows 
upon a small area. Naturally, too, people must live in 
close proximity to their business, and as a result the more 
business a place has the more people collect there. Hence, 
villages grow into towns and then into cities. A village 
is a relative term, for what is called a village in one state 
may not be so called in another. Villages are generally 
small communities, smaller than a city in all sections of 



MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT 337 

the United States, and in the South and parts of the 
West smaller than a town. 

Village government is always simple, since the popula- 
tion is small. In many states the village is not incorporated 
as a separate unit from the township or magisterial dis- 
trict. If it is incorporated, it usually has a constable, 
a marshal, a clerk, a justice of the peace, and a board of 
trustees, all of whom are elective, and whose duties are 
clear from their titles. 

The town, as stated above, is in many states a chartered 
municipality intermediate in size between a village and a 
city. The town may or may not have a mayor as an ex- 
ecutive. If there is no mayor, a town board of trustees, or 
commissioners, is the managerial power, and it enforces 
the law through a town marshal and a justice of the peace. 
This board of trustees is empowered to levy taxes, and to 
look after schools, streets, health, water, and other neces- 
sary public matters. The government is of a simple order 
as there are few or no hard problems to solve. When a 
community ceases to be a village or town and becomes a 
city, depends upon the state law. In some states 3000 
people make a city ; in others, 10,000 are required. Again, 
in other states cities are divided into classes according to 
size; the first-class cities being the largest. The cities 
of the lowest class (fourth, or sixth, or whatever the number 
may be) may be no larger than towns or villages. 

Charters. — The city includes all the elements of village 
and town government, and as the great problems are in 
the large cities, they will be considered more in detail. 
The towns and cities are each incorporated by state law. 
They act for the commonwealth within their defined privi- 
leges in conserving the best local interests and doing those 



338 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

things that do not concern the state at large. No town or 
city is ever free from state law or authority ; each munic- 
ipality must pay its part of state taxes and be answerable 
to general state law. In all states, however, cities are 
empowered by their charters to manage their local affairs, 
and the states generally do not interfere in any way with 
city business administration. Recently, in some states, 
the city charters have been so modified that state officials 
audit the city's financial accounts. The purpose of this 
is to avoid local official dishonesty. 

The methods of granting charters are so varied in the 
different states of the Union, that it is difficult to discuss 
the subject in a limited space. In general, however, it is 
done in one of two ways : either the state legislature grants 
a charter to a town or city which' meets the legal require- 
ments ; or the community organizes under statutory enact- 
ments providing for their so doing ; in the latter case it gets 
its charter from the judge of the circuit court, or from the 
secretary of state. Allowing the state legislatures to grant 
charters to individual corporations is a slow and clumsy 
process. Besides, this method is open to several objections, 
chief of which is that there will be no uniformity in the 
charters granted for towns and cities of the same class. 
Many states secure uniformity in charters by the division 
of incorporated towns into classes, as above mentioned. 
Again, some states allow their larger cities to frame and 
amend their own charters, requiring only that they shall 
not be contrary to the state constitutions. Varied as city 
governments are, and in spite of the fact that they are 
constantly changing, their charters are fundamentally 
similar. In all charters are specified the powers that may 
be exercised, the boundary of the city or town, and such 



MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT 339 

restrictions as the state laws may prescribe. The state 
often prescribes the limit to which the city may incur 
indebtedness, and asserts whatever authority it reserves 
to itself. The plan of government, and the name or titles 
of the officials and their duties, are generally outlined and 
provided for by the charters. 

The Council. — The legislature of a city is the council, 
composed generally of but one chamber. A few large 
cities, however, notably Philadelphia, Baltimore, and St. 
Louis, have a bicameral council. The council is an elec- 
tive body, usually paid only a small salary or none at all, 
and serves generally for a term of two years, though in 
some cities its members are chosen annually, and in others 
for four years. When there is an upper house and a lower 
house in the council, the first named is ordinarily a small 
body and is generally elected by the voters in the city at 
large, while the lower chamber is usually chosen from the 
different wards into which a city is divided. Objections 
may arise to either plan of choosing a council. The ward 
plan, which is common in large cities, while democratic 
in that it gives every local unit a representative, also admits 
of the notoriously corrupt political organizations to be 
found in many of our larger cities. The members of these 
organizations get into the council for selfish ends ; and, 
owing to the secure hold they have upon the small divisions 
of the electorate, they are often dislodged only with the 
greatest difficulty. In Chicago, in some of the poorer 
districts, aldermen having notorious reputations are re- 
turned repeatedly to the council and have grown wealthy 
through questionable methods. The hold these men have 
on their constituents is explained when it is stated that 
they give away annually, to the poorer members in their 



340 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

wards, hundreds of pairs of shoes, large numbers of tur- 
keys, and other donations at Thanksgiving and Christmas 
time, the value of which far exceeds aldermanic salaries. 
Of course the money used for the purchase of these gifts 
returns in devious ways to the aldermen who spend it. 
Perhaps the best way to select a council would be by the city 
at large, allowing the minority party proportional repre- 
sentation. 

Procedure and Powers. — A city council proceeds with 
its business much like any legislative body. It has a fixed 
time for meeting, but may meet in special session, or at 
the call of the mayor, who, in many cities where there 
is a single chamber council, is its presiding officer. It 
has a code of rules, a system of committees on important 
affairs, such as ways and means, streets, health, and other 
similar matters, and keeps a journal. Proposed ordinances 
must be introduced and pass through three readings at 
different meetings, after which, if they receive a majority 
vote, they become laws, unless the mayor has the right of 
veto, which is the case in many cities. The powers of the 
city council vary in different states, sometimes even in 
the same state. Laws or ordinances that councils pass 
must not conflict with state or federal laws, for in that case 
they would, of course, be null and void. 

In all city charters the raising of revenue is given especial 
attention, since wise financiering generally means a good 
city government, and because raising taxes, city or national, 
is a great responsibility. This revenue is generally raised 
by an added city levy laid upon all sorts of property, and, 
as a rule, is collected with county and state taxes. The 
council may also secure revenues through special assess- 
ment upon property holders for improvements made in 



MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT 341 

sewers or streets, and by granting special licenses for vari- 
ous kinds of business. It also has the power of taking 
private property for public use, and of issuing bonds, and 
of borrowing money within prescribed limits. Granting 
franchises or contracts for special utilities or privileges is 
also a method of getting considerable revenue. Generally 
now a council must sell franchises to the highest bidder 
for a limited period only ; as, for example, use of the streets 
to a railway company, or rights to a gas company ; and even 
in many cities a referendum is required to make the fran- 
chise valid. A certain per cent of the earnings of any 
valuable franchise should always go into the city treasury. 

The Mayor. — The mayor is the executive officer of 
a town or city. In many cities he is president of the 
council, and in others he is not even a member of it. He 
is chosen by the people for a term varying from one to 
four years. Generally he has the veto power and also 
the power to appoint such city officials and boards as are 
not chosen by the popular vote. His appointees may 
or may not be subject to confirmation by the council. 
Recent action by many cities places more responsibility 
upon the mayor, since city councils have often proved 
false to their trust, especially in the disbursing of the revenue. 
It is the duty of the mayor to enforce city ordinances. 
Generally he appoints the police force, and in many smaller 
towns, he has judicial functions in the absence of a city 
court. 

Administrative Departments. — In every city there are 
departments and boards to assist the council and mayor 
in carrying out ordinances. The work done by boards 
and commissioners in the larger cities is carried on in towns 
and small cities by committees of the council itself. Usually, 



342 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

however, all departments are created by the council, and 
the mayor is given appointive power. Again, boards are 
created by the council, or elected by the people. In some 
cities, and in a few states, the governor is given power to 
appoint some of the city boards, such as police commis- 
sioners. At present there is a decided tendency to 
strengthen the mayor's appointive power, and allow him 
to appoint heads of the various departments and hold 
them responsible. The following boards or commissions 
are generally found in a city, some having fewer and others 
more : — 

Police. — This board appoints a chief and members of 
the patrolling and detective corps. 

Finance. — Comptrollers and assessors and collectors of 
taxes. 

Education. — ■ This board appoints a city superintendent 
as its chief agent, and through his advice the board appoints 
other teachers and school officers. 

Public Works. — City surveyor and engineers. 

Public Safety. — This board is in general control of 
the board of fire commissioners, the board of health, and 
the street inspectors; and, in some cities, of the police 
force also. 

Charities. — A secretary or several persons are appointed 
to carry out the poor relief systematically. 

In the leading boards mentioned the salaries paid are 
usually small. Locating responsibility has made the single 
commissioner plan the most successful, as in France, and 
a single commissioner is generally paid a larger salary. 
Each department employs a large number of assistants, 
and in large cities such departments as public safety and 
the police have small armies under their control. New 



MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT 343 

York City has at present over 10,000 men in its police 
force, and Chicago over 8oco. 

City Courts. — Generally the judges of municipal courts 
are elected by the people. In many towns and smaller 
cities, especially in the South, the mayor has the judicial 
function and may hold court ; but regular city courts, 
called police, magistrate, or municipal courts, are much 
more common. These courts may be divided into civil 
and criminal courts, bat in either case they can act only 
under city ordinances and under state laws on matters of 
small importance. In some large cities an enormous num- 
ber of cases of various kinds of offenses against city law 
come before these police courts. In Xew York there are 
more than 100.000 cases annually. It must be remembered 
that cities are under state law. and that the state's courts 
have jurisdiction over them as well as over the rural districts. 
Hence there will be no confusion about the powers of the 
circuit and superior courts of the county under state law 
as before discussed. Reform is sorely needed in city courts. 
Better men are needed on the bench to make these courts 
more efficient and more dignified. Where the city courts 
have no jurisdiction, the cases go to the state courts. An 
appeal may be taken from the city court to the circuit 
courts, generally ; always, if a question of validity of city 
ordinances is concerned ; and the appeal from the city 
court may even finally be taken to the supreme court of 
the state. 

Civil Service. — One of the greatest evils in city govern- 
ment is the spoils system. Every ward has its petty 
bosses, and if these are not themselves candidates for offices, 
they put pressure upon the mayor and city council for 
their friends, often wholly incompetent and of questionable 



344 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

character. This largely explains the widespread official 
incompetency and peculation in office. Where party 
politics is involved in city elections, the winning party 
often dismisses everybody of the opposition in office even 
down to the firemen, and to the humblest clerk, and the 
public pays the price while new and untried men learn their 
duties. Separating city from state and national elections 
has done much good ; independent voting is increasing 
and is helping to remedy the evil somewhat. In many of 
the most progressive cities the citizens have learned to 
act on the principle that a competent official holding an im- 
portant position should be continued in office regardless 
of what his views may be on religion, the tariff, or any other 
subject having nothing whatever to do with good municipal 
government and the public welfare. To this end civil 
service reform is being widely introduced in city govern- 
ment. This is true especially of subordinate positions ; of 
the police department, the fire department, and clerical 
positions generally. Better service is thus obtained, as 
has been proved in cities like New Orleans, Chicago, and 
all cities of Wisconsin, Ohio, and Massachusetts where 
the plan is in vogue. 

The Commission System of Government 

Owing to widespread dissatisfaction with our municipal 
government, the tendency in recent years has been to view 
the city rather as a corporation, and its government as a 
business proposition. The study of municipal problems 
has developed clearly that nearly all towns and cities are 
overburdened with elective and appointive official machin- 
ery, which is not only expensive, but which instead of mak- 
ing for a real democratic government has frequently meant 



MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT 345 

a government of rings conducted by and for the benefit 
of politicians. 

In 1901 Galveston, Texas, which had suffered the previ- 
ous year from a terrible catastrophe, obtained a new char- 
ter which placed the city government entirely in the hands 
of a mayor and four commissioners. These officials were 
given complete authority to pass laws and administer the 
city's business. Good business men were chosen, each of 
whom took a department of administration and appointed 
competent subordinate officials. Excellent results were 
obtained. The Galveston system has been widely com- 
mented upon, copied, and improved, until now over two 
hundred towns and cities have the commission system 
of government. The cities using the system range in 
size from cities having a population of a few thousand up to 
and mcluding such cities as Xew Orleans. 

The Des Moines Plan. — After a careful study of the 
Galveston form of government, Des Moines. Iowa, adopted 
a modified and improved form of the commission plan in 
1907, which has since been widely copied in outline and 
detail by other cities all over the country. The plan is 
presented briefly in general outline below. The Iowa law 
of 1909 provides that all cities of 7000 and over may 
adopt the commission system ; also that any city, after 
having used the new system for six years, if dissatisfied 
therewith, may, by a majority vote, drop back into the 
class in which it belongs in the state, and resume its govern- 
ment under the law as prescribed by statute for a city of 
that class. 

Des Moines chooses a mayor and four councilmen for 
a term of four years each from the city at large. A primary 
is held, at which the candidates for mavor or councilmen 



346 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

are such citizens as have filed petitions signed by at least 
twenty-five electors. The names on the ticket are arranged 
alphabetically. In this primary each voter may vote for 
only one candidate for mayor and for only four council- 
men. The regular election soon follows the primary, when 
the ballot contains for mayor the names of the two persons 
who received the highest vote in the primary, and the names 
of eight candidates for councilmen who had the highest 
vote. The candidate receiving the largest vote is declared 
mayor, and the four candidates receiving the highest 
votes become councilmen. Vacancies are filled by the 
council itself for the remainder of an unexpired term, and 
three members constitute a quorum. This plan, operating 
under a very strict election law, is intended to eliminate 
the boss and other corrupt influences. There are five 
departments in the city's government : — 

1. Public Affairs. 

2. Accounts and Finances. 

3. Public Safety. 

4. Streets and Public Improvements. 

5. Parks and Public Property. 

Operation of the plan. — The council, including the 
mayor, exercises all executive, legislative, and judicial 
powers. The mayor presides at all meetings, and is the 
head of the department of public affairs ; the other mem- 
bers are chosen at the first session of the council, by a 
majority vote among themselves, each as the head of one 
of the other departments. They also elect by a majority 
vote such officers as a city clerk, solicitor, assessor, treas- 
urer, auditor, civil engineer, chief of fire department, market 
master, police judge, and such other officers as are deemed 
necessary to aid in administering the government efficiently. 



MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT 347 

Ail these officials are responsible to the council, and may 
have their salaries changed or may be removed from office. 
The mayor supervises all departments, and reports matters 
needing attention in any department of the whole council. 

All ordinances or resolutions must, in their complete 
form, lie for public inspection in the city clerk's office at 
least one week before they can become law ; and no impor- 
tant franchise or public utility grant can be voted by the 
council until it has received a majority vote in a public 
election. A civil service commission is provided, which 
makes merit a basis for the selection of employees. Pub- 
licity is given to all of the council's proceedings, and each 
month the council must print, in pamphlet form, a state- 
ment of the city's financial status and submit the same 
to the newspapers for publication ; also, expert accountants 
annually examine all books and accounts of the council. 
An incompetent mayor or councilman may be recalled 
by an election called for by a petition of twenty-five per 
cent of the votes cast at the last election. The voters of 
the city may not only veto a measure of the council by a 
majority vote, but may also initiate measures, and compel 
the passage of the same. 

Merits of the commission plan. — Such in brief is the 
Des Moines plan. It has not met all expectations, but the 
following points are claimed for it : (i) directness, simplic- 
ity, efficiency, and economy in administration ; (2) quick 
response to public opinion — a more thoroughly democratic 
city government; (3) greater civic interest and pride; 
(4) a united city for general improvement, as against one 
formerly of seven warring wards : (5) a general cleaning up 
of the city, politically and morally ; (6) a short ballot given 
to the voter, so that he may know what he is voting for. 



348 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

The same merits in general are claimed for other forms 
of the commission system. Scientific business methods are 
put into operation ; expert help is employed ; fewer officers 
are employed, and these must understand their business 
and attend to it; responsibility is at once located when 
anything goes wrong, and quick adjustment follows. It 
is really most democratic, in that it puts the people's busi- 
ness before them in such a way that they may intelligently 
see what their duty is, and what their agents are doing 
for them in the council. 

Objections. — The chief objections that have been urged 
against the commission system are that it destroys the time- 
honored custom of dividing executive, legislative, and judi- 
cial powers ; that it lodges too much power in the hands 
of a few men, thus making intrigue and political scheming 
easier ; that instead of democracy the system creates, inter- 
prets, and enforces its own laws, and punishes their infrac- 
tions ; all of which is bureaucracy and unAmerican. 

The commission system, however, is spreading, and is 
being perfected by experience as it grows. It has not been 
a cure-all for every municipal evil, but has so far been very 
generally successful. Moreover, it has aroused a health- 
ful civic interest, which of itself is a great achievement ; 
and as government depends upon an aroused public con- 
science, great good has resulted. The experiment is too 
new to predict its stability. If it will educate the city 
electorate, and make the people more expert in knowing 
what they want and in asserting it, the old forms of city 
government will pass away. 1 All over the country there 

1 See following additional references for the commission form of govern- 
ment : Hamilton : "Dethronement of the City Boss," 185-218; Munsey's 
Magazine, August, 191 1. 



MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT 349 

are springing up organizations, such as the Reform League 
of Boston, the City Club of Chicago, and the Good Govern- 
ment Club of New York, which are studying municipal 
problems. Schools have caught the spirit, and a better 
day is coming in civic righteousness. 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

Annals of Ajnerican Academy of Political and Social Science : 
vol. XXXVIII, No. 3, November, ion. 

Beard : American Citizenship, ch. X. 

Boynton : School Civics, ch. XX. 

Bryce: The American Commonwealth, I (3d ed.), 622-650. 

Forman : Advanced Civics, 216-222. 

Garner : Government in the United States, ch. II. 

Guitteau : Government and Politics in the United States, 38-58. 

Hamilton: Dethronement of the City Boss, 9-25 ; 169-185. 

Hart : Actual Government, ch. IX. 

James and Sanford: Government in State and Nation, rev. ed., 
ch. IV. 

Kaye : Reading in Civil Government, ch. XV. 

Munro : The Government of American Cities, ch. XII. 

Strong and Shafer : The Government of the American People, 
ch. VII. 

Wilcox: The American City, 1-28 ; 52-91; 200-229. 

Zeublin : American Municipal Progress, 1-96. 

Source Material and Supplementary Aids. — Make a map of your 
town or city. On it show your divisions into wards and school 
districts. Get the state statute on chartering towns and cities. 
Get the latest ordinances of your town or city and find out the duties, 
as defined there, of your mayor, council, and other officials. Send 
to the city clerk of some city having the commission form of govern- 
ment and get the plan as outlined. 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. It is more difficult to get good results from government in our 
towns and cities than in state and nation. Why? 



350 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

2. How is a town organized? Why are town and city govern- 
ments different from that of the rural part of the community ? 

3. What class city is yours? Why are towns and cities arranged 
into classes? 

4. How much money does your town raise and expend annually ? 
How is it raised ? 

5. What taxes does your town or city raise which the rural com- 
munity does not ? Does your city pay county and state taxes as the 
rural community does ? 

6. Upon what is the money raised expended? Who expends it? 

7. How are your mayor, council, and all other city officials nomi- 
nated and elected? Terms of each? 

8. State official duties of each municipal officer. 

9. If you live in a small town or village, what is the difference in 
the manner in which it is governed when incorporated or chartered, 
and when it is not ? 

10. A city council should grant a corporation use of streets, or 
give it special privileges for only a short time. Why ? 

QUESTION FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That the commission system of government will solve 
municipal problems much more readily than the old forms are doing. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

PROBLEMS OF THE CITY 

Health. — Where people have settled densely, many 
complex problems about health arise. The larger the city 
and the more congested the population, the more danger 
there is from disease, and the harder it is to secure good 
sanitary conditions. This means that towns and cities 
must have a health board, or at least a health officer, to 
supervise and look after general health measures. Some 
cities still maintain a municipal board of health, but to-day, 
many of our larger cities, as well as the great majority of 
smaller ones, have a single commissioner of health and 
thereby get better results. 

The commissioner of health is generally appointed by 
the mayor or the council. His tenure of office should not 
be affected by politics, but should depend solely upon his 
efficiency. In large cities he has many assistants, such as 
inspectors, and collectors of vital statistics and other use- 
ful data. It is evident to cities, that their greatest asset, 
commercially, and in every other sense, is a healthful, 
contented, home-owning citizenship. To have good health 
conditions, officials must look after a great many things, 
among which nothing is of more importance than having 
good streets and keeping them clean. Street building and 
street cleaning are generally paid for by the city itself, 
or by the abutting property owners jointly with the city. 
Another important consideration is the sewage problem. 

351 



352 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

All street cleanings, sewage, garbage, and filth of all sorts, 
should be cremated, or otherwise carefully disposed of, 
since they are positively dangerous in themselves and also 
furnish breeding places for the fly and mosquito, both of 
which, it has been proved, are carriers of disease. Among 
other health problems we find at least six which are looked 
upon as of paramount importance to the community. 
They are : — 

i. Housing. — Many houses, especially those built 
for rent, such as the tenements where the poorer classes 
live, are huddled together without regard to light or venti- 
lation, or without sufficient warming in the winter season, 
or proper drainage and water supply. Again, overcrowding 
which leads to sickness and disease, is very prevalent. 
Many cities now inspect and regulate housing and building. 

2. Food. — Until recently little attention was paid to 
food manufactures or to their products. Frauds of all 
kinds have been found in the labeling of foods, and so much 
that is injurious has been sold to the public, that there is 
now an enlightened public conscience on the matter, and 
hence legislation. By the aid of science, honest food and 
its producers are coming into their own. Statistics show 
that great infant mortality has often been due largely to 
the adulteration of milk supplied to our cities. This has 
led to a demand upon dairymen and milk dealers that 
they furnish unadulterated milk of the highest quality 
from healthy cows. The water supply needs to be fre- 
quently analyzed in order that it be kept strictly pure. 
Bakeshops and slaughterhouses, canning establishments, 
and candy shops too, all need strict inspection, and now 
have it in states and cities where there is a modern pro- 
gressive spirit. 



PROBLEMS OF THE CITY 353 

3. Parks and playgrounds. — Pure air and sunshine are 
among the greatest essentials of all good, clean, health- 
ful life, and yet only a few of a large city's population really 
have them. To-day there is an ever-increasing demand 
for more parks and more playgrounds for both adults and 
children, where pure air and freedom from the city's rush 
and din may be found. 

4. Bathhouses and rest rooms. — Another crying need 
in the crusade for cleanliness, health, and longevity 
is bathhouses. American towns and cities, generally 
speaking, are behind ancient Rome and the cities of Japan 
in this respect. However, many towns are furnishing 
bathing places, either free or at nominal cost, and all should 
do so. Connected with or separated from bathing places, 
rest rooms should be equipped where the public may enter 
without intrusion and where good drinking water is supplied. 
A demand for places of this sort arises both from the stand- 
point of health, and for protection to the public as an 
encouragement to temperance. 

5. Preventing infectious diseases. — In a crowded popula- 
tion there is always danger of the spread of contagious 
diseases, which are often the cause of great expense and 
mortality. The city must have rigid health inspection and 
quarantine rules, must prevent such things as spitting on the 
sidewalk and in public places, and must furnish detention 
hospitals for the afflicted. All fair-minded, public-spirited 
citizens should submit willingly to a quarantine when nec- 
essary to prevent the spread of any infectious disease, 
and vaccination, and other preventive measures, must be 
attended to constantly. Medical and dental inspection 
of school children have been found of great benefit to the 
economic prosperity and general happiness of a community. 



354 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

6. Vital statistics. — A record of marriages, births, 
and deaths is very important. By compelling physicians 
and undertakers to report the causes of deaths, contagious 
diseases may frequently be quickly checked. Eugenics 
and the prevention of disease are prominent aims of the 
twentieth century, and keeping well has become a matter 
of both public and individual interest. Conservation of 
natural resources amounts to nothing if the nation itself 
is weakly and sick. A children's bureau, before men- 
tioned, has been created by Congress as a part of the de- 
partment of labor. Its investigations will be published 
from time to time, and will greatly help the states as well 
as the nation. 

Ownership of Public Utilities. — The tax levied for city 
expenditures is in many states limited by constitutions or 
statute law. In most cities a debt of only from two to 
ten per cent of the total assessment of their taxable property 
may be incurred. The amount is fixed in order to restrain 
city councils from reckless extravagance, and also to keep 
a rapidly growing city from getting hopelessly in debt, 
and its citizens from being taxed beyond proper limits. 

Certain necessities, which at the same time are public 
utilities, naturally belong to a city. Under this classi- 
fication would come, of course, streets, parks, sewers, 
school buildings, bridges, fire departments, and hospitals. 
The care of these utilities, especially in a rapidly growing 
town, necessarily costs heavily. The question is con- 
stantly being raised, how much farther ought city govern- 
ment to go in taking charge of other utilities which are 
ordinarily in the hands of private capital and private cor- 
porations, but which all the public either uses or is much 
interested in? Under this head come street railways, 



PROBLEMS OF THE CITY 355 

water works, electric light and gas plants, and telephones. 
Would a city's population get better and cheaper service 
from this last-named class of utilities and necessities through 
municipal ownership than under the present arrangement? 
That is, would the public welfare be better guarded if the 
city should for itself do what is now in the main done by 
private capital ? 

From the nature of the last-named class of utilities, it 
will be seen that they must be of a monopolistic nature, 
since two or more street railways, water w r orks systems, 
and lighting systems, cannot conveniently run through 
the same streets at the same time without endless confusion. 
Everywhere there is a tendency to limit the franchise con- 
tract between the city and a private company to a short 
term of years, and to award the city a certain per cent of 
the receipts of the corporation. Formerly, franchises 
selling the rights to use a city's streets were granted to 
corporations for an indefinite period, or from fifty to one 
hundred years. This allowed the corporation to reap all 
the gain of business and increase of the value of the property 
which comes with a thriving city, while the city got no 
benefit. A period of years must be granted sufficient for 
a company to get a fair reward for its capital if put into 
public utilities like water works or a street railway. Twenty 
years is considered long enough for a franchise now, and 
often a city inserts a clause reserving the right to buy the 
utility at its appraised value when the franchise expires. 
The franchise generally specifies something about the rates 
of transportation to be charged. 

It will be seen that municipal ownership of utilities 
would involve an enormous expense, both to acquire and 
to operate, and since a city government has only the money 



356 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

that it raises by taxation, few cities have so far tried the 
complete ownership plan. However, a great many cities 
do own and operate their own water works, gas works, and 
their electric light plants. So far, however, no progress 
has been made in public ownership of street railways in 
the United States, a condition common in Europe, as is 
true also of the other utilities generally in private hands in 
America. 

Arguments in favor of municipal ownership. — 1. It 
would abolish corruption in politics. Much graft in city 
politics comes through private corporations owning a 
public service monopoly. 

2. The city would give better service everywhere; 
while private ownership only gives its best service where 
the profit is greatest. 

3. Service would be cheaper to the public. Water, gas, 
and electricity are furnished cheaper to the people in cities 
where the plants are owned by the municipality than in 
cities where they are owned and operated by private persons. 

4. It aids civil service, and hence assists in preventing 
labor troubles. 

5. The city can furnish cheaper service, for it can borrow 
money at a lower rate than individuals can ; and of course, 
it pays no dividend on its investments. 

Arguments against municipal ownership. — 1. City 
politics would be further corrupted by an additional in- 
crease of officers and laborers, who would fall into the hands 
of the politicians. 

2. To buy and operate all public utilities would swell 
city debts beyond hope of payment. 

3. Private management is more alert and progressive, 
and hence cheaper than public management. 



PROBLEMS OF THE CITY 357 

4. It is denied that public ownership will stop dishonesty 
and peculation in municipal offices. 

Immigration. — The national immigration law now 
excludes convicts, insane persons, paupers, polygamists, 
anarchists, and persons afflicted with loathsome and incur- 
able diseases ; also Chinese laborers and laborers coming 
under contract to do certain work. Certain skilled laborers 
from abroad, who come to work in specified industries in 
this country, are exempt from this law. Although the 
federal law is more stringent now, and imposes a per capita 
tax of four dollars on each alien landing on our shore, the 
immigrants still come at the rate of about one million a 
year. 

According to recent statistics, the number of immi- 
grants who come to the United States to remain is gradually 
growing smaller each year, and the greater part of these are 
from the poorer classes of southeastern Europe. These 
people, who differ in race and stock from most Americans, 
are, as a rule, more ignorant and more difficult to American- 
ize and assimilate than were the immigrants of northern 
Europe, who now come only in comparatively small num- 
bers. There is little public land to be had, so these immi- 
grants swarm to the cities, generally in the North, where 
they seek to earn a living as best they can. Thus immigra- 
tion becomes at once a problem of the city. In some 
of the largest cities in America, the foreign-born popula- 
tion equals or exceeds the native-born. As a rule the 
housing, the sanitary conditions, and the wages among 
the immigrants are poorer, and the moral ideas, and gen- 
eral standard of living much lower than they are with 
native Americans. To correct these conditions is one of 
the great tasks confronting the city's school system. 



358 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

Another difficulty to contend with is the tendency of the 
different nationalities to colonize in our large cities, and 
thus fall easy prey to politicians, which often retards the 
social and moral progress of a city. The popular notion 
that foreigners have increased crime in our country has 
recently been effectively disproved. The problem of the 
city is how to make these people over into Americans by 
giving them our ideals. Toward that end progress is every- 
where being made. Immigrants have been and still are of 
great benefit to our country ; and since there were only 
about seventy-two to one thousand of our population 
in the decade 1901-1910, there is little danger of their not 
becoming Americanized. 

Labor. — Labor is really a national and state problem, 
and becomes one of the city's problems only on account 
of the immigration and the constant inflow from the rural 
districts. In the city the labor unions flourish in great 
numbers, and in times of prosperity there is no municipal 
labor problem. Only in periods of depression and of strife 
between employers and employed, do serious problems 
arise. To meet the problems of securing labor for the 
unemployed, many cities now provide free employment 
bureaus. Strikes, lockouts, and blacklists frequently cause 
a city great business loss and general demoralization. 
Arbitration is growing more common, due to the growth 
of a feeling that the innocent public, which is in the great 
majority in every city, is entitled to consideration and 
protection, and to the fact that in any situation that may 
arise, the best sentiment of every community demands 
that law and order must be maintained. 

Juvenile Courts. — Recently courts to dispose of chil- 
dren's offenses have been created in many cities. It is 



PROBLEMS OF THE CITY 359 

well known that many children who do unlawful acts are- 
no t criminals at heart. They fall in with " gangs " of 
older offenders and often unintentionally violate law. In 
the juvenile courts, the judge and the whole legal machin- 
ery becomes a correction agency, which gives the offender 
a chance to work out his own reform under good environ- 
ment. Frequent reports are required of the delinquent. 
Many children have been saved from the stigma of a 
prison sentence by these courts and thereby made useful 
citizens. Denver, Salt Lake City, and Indianapolis have 
been pioneers in establishing juvenile courts. 

Charity. — How to take care of worthy poor so as not 
to encourage poverty, thriftlessness, and at the same time 
add to this class of indigent persons those who can easily 
help themselves, has been a problem with nations in all 
times. It is estimated that about one twenty-fifth of the 
population of the United States is dependent upon charity 
in some form. Our cities, with their crowded populations, 
naturally have the greatest percentage of these unfortunates, 
and frequently have almshouses apart from those main- 
tained by the county in which the city is located. The 
causes of poverty are numerous and their consideration 
properly belongs to sociology. There is no one way agreed 
upon which really solves the problem of relieving the poor. 

Our large cities now generally have almshouses for their 
paupers over which are charity boards and secretaries 
who are paid salaries from the city treasury, their chief 
function being to investigate individual cases so as to pre- 
vent fraud. Private organizations and philanthropic in- 
dividuals very often join with the city associations for the 
relief of the poor, and thus more effective work is done. 
Outdoor relief is practiced extensively. It works fairly 



360 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

well in smaller cities and towns, where individual cases 
are well known and can be closely watched. By this 
system, as stated before, the person or persons assisted 
remain with their friends or families, and get some aid. 
This is cheaper for the city than to take all paupers to 
almshouses, and less stigma is attached to the recipient 
of aid ; but this makes the system dangerous for the city, 
since under this plan the number of applicants is apt to 
increase. Many cities are careless in the management 
of paupers, especially of the vagrant poor, and really en- 
courage them in pauperism and vagrancy instead of try- 
ing to reform them. The best results are obtained when 
a city compels its pauper class to do some useful work when 
at all physically able to do so. Work is preventive of 
pauperism, since it keeps people from becoming wards of 
a city, and at the same time it acts as a tonic to build up 
character. 

Education. — The subject of education has already 
been discussed. Almost all cities and towns have school 
systems, which are under state control, yet have distinct 
and individual features of their own. A school board, 
generally elected by popular vote, or appointed by the 
mayor for a term of two or three years, and with little or 
no salary, regulates and controls the city schools. It is 
the city's problem to make its schools highly efficient, free 
from favoritism and politics, both state and sectarian, 
and to have them economically managed. Libraries must 
be maintained, trade schools equipped, domestic science 
taught, and in every way the schools must be close to the 
people. Our most progressive city school systems now 
provide schools for truants, and also for children who can- 
not advance as fast as the average student. There is 



PROBLEMS OF THE CITY 36 1 

springing up a demand that schools, when graded, should 
make some provision for the segregation of the brightest 
pupils so that they may be allowed to advance as fast as 
possible. This supernormal element in our schools is 
estimated at only four per cent, but from these pupils 
a large city could often form several schools, and possi- 
bilities for developing scholars and leaders of thought 
would be greatly enhanced. 

Markets. — The cost of living has in recent years ad- 
vanced so greatly that it has caused widespread discussion 
by national, state, and city authorities. High prices have 
caused poverty and general discontent in our large cities, 
largely due to the fact that Americans, as a class, are the 
most particular and the most extravagant people about 
their food. Whatever else the economic factors having 
to do with the high prices of the necessities of life are, it 
is evident that commission men, those who receive consign- 
ments of food from outside a city and sell them for a certain 
per cent of the selling price for their fees, add very mate- 
rially to the cost price of foodstuffs. In many cities, notably 
Indianapolis and Lynn, investigations have been made, 
which show that commission men and sometimes even 
middlemen have robbed both the producer and the con- 
sumer. Commission men and their friends among some 
of the middlemen have at times refused to receive more 
food ; or if they did buy it, it was for such a very low price 
that shippers would not, or could not, sell in that city. Such 
a condition virtually created a monopoly and consequently 
high prices for the food on hand. This has caused unprec- 
edented prices in cities even when the surrounding country 
had an abundance of food, especially fruit, poultry, and 
vegetables, to sell at low prices. Many cooperative socie- 



362 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

ties have been formed, especially among labor unions, and 
even among certain fraternal orders, to buy foodstuffs in 
wholesale lots and deliver them at cost to the members of 
the societies. The market systems of cities seem to be 
antiquated, and should be reformed. There ought not 
to be a possibility of a monopoly in foodstuffs ; for this is 
not only unjust but extremely dangerous. Improved 
market facilities are demanded everywhere. It seems 
at present as if an economic revolution were about to come 
which will bring the producers and buyers closer together 
to the mutual advantage of both. The parcel post system 
will undoubtedly be even more simplified, and, when 
well understood, can greatly aid farmers to reach city 
consumers. This would be a great step toward a solution 
of the problem of the present high prices of foodstuffs, 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

Allen : Civics and Health, 329-397. 

Beard: Readings in American Government and Politics, ch. 
XXVIII. 

Garner : Government in the United States, ch. II. 

Government Report on National Vitality : Bulletin 30 (1909). 

Guitteau: Government and Politics in the United States, 61-71. 

Hart : Actual Government, ch. II. 

Kaye : Readings in Civil Government, 333-336. 

Munro : The Government of American Cities, ch. XIV. 

Strong and Shafer : The Government of the American People, ch. 
IX. 

Zeublin: American Municipal Progress, chs. Ill- VIII. 

Source Material and Supplementary Aids. — Reports and bulle- 
tins of your state board of health. City council reports of taxes 
raised and expenditures made. Text of bills in the council proposing 
to sell franchises. Bulletins from the department of labor on immi- 
gration. Police court proceedings, if they may be had in your city. 



PROBLEMS OF THE CITY 363 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. Why do older and more densely settled rural communities 
have more health problems than the early pioneers had ? 

2. Who is your county health officer? Your city health officer? 
Duties of each ? 

3. Why is quarantining very essential? 

4. State arguments for and against municipal ownership of public 
utilities. 

5. Why is our number of immigrants gradually growing smaller 
year by year ? 

6. What would your police court, circuit court, and juvenile court 
show to be the chief causes of crime in your community ? How might 
these causes be removed? 

7. How is aid given to the poor in your county, or city, or both? 
Does it minimize the number of paupers? 

8. How do you think the producer of foodstuffs and the real 
consumer might be brought together for the benefit of both ? 

QUESTION FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That all immigrants, except those having excellent health 
and property worth $1000, should be excluded from the United 
States. 



CHAPTER XXV 

EDUCATION: A PROBLEM OF THE STATE AND THE 
NATION 

Education a Function of Government. — In early times 
education in Europe and in colonial America was under 
the control of the church, and only those who were com- 
paratively wealthy obtained the full advantage of it. In 
the United States it was soon seen that a republican 
form of government could never be maintained if its 
electorate were ignorant. Education might be termed 
the fourth department of our government, and upon it 
the stability of the whole structure rests. While it 
is true that the Constitution says nothing about educa- 
tion, which is left entirely to the states, ample provision 
is made for its support. In every state provision is made 
for the maintenance of the various grades of schools sup- 
ported by public funds. About 17,000,000 pupils, or twenty 
per cent of our population, are enrolled in our common 
schools under the instruction of 500,000 teachers. The 
church has no control, nor has wealth, and the public 
schools are open to the humblest child, to the end that 
future citizens may be made alert, strong, and efficient. 

The Common Schools. — Early efforts to establish 
public schools were largely local. The schools were sup- 
ported by private , subscription and local help, and were 
under local officials. Gradually the states took control 
of educational affairs as they saw their duty more clearly. 

364 



EDUCATION 365 

They outlined a course of study, and designated a set of 
officials who should be in charge of the educational work. 
In many states a minimum school term is specified, as is 
also a minimum wage for teachers, who must pass strict 
examinations. The course of study in the common schools 
varies in different states, though the subjects studied are 
similar. In the city where the schools are graded, and 
only one grade, or a half grade, is given to a teacher, more 
subjects can be taught than in the one-room country schools. 
The courses of study are being revised constantly to meet 
the demands of the children in preparing them for citizen- 
ship and economic life. The public school resembles a 
hopper, into which children of almost every nationality 
and every form of religious faith are poured, and from 
which they emerge with the only preparation they re- 
ceive for American citizenship. Since this is true, it 
can easily be seen why there should be a realization on 
the part of the state, that caring for and educating the 
young is its first and greatest duty. 

High Schools. — In colonial times, in fact until about 
the middle of the nineteenth century, there were established 
private grammar schools and academies for children desiring 
to go further than the rudimentary education provided for 
by the so-called public school. But these were entirely 
too few in number to meet the demands of the masses of 
the people. After 1850, the high school movement be- 
came quite general, and high schools were added to the 
public school system. After the completion of the first 
eight grades in the common schools, a three-year or four- 
year additional course was added in a public high school for 
all those desiring it. The high schools have almost supplanted 
the academy and the seminary, and to-day many of them 



366 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

give their students the same advantages that the smaller 
colleges formerly did, with much less expense. In the 
high school both sexes are educated, choice of courses and 
subjects is allowed, and there is a growing sentiment that 
special aptitudes and ability shown by pupils coming from 
the graded schools should, if of a useful kind, be fostered, 
encouraged, and developed. The high school also fits 
for the next higher step in education, the college and uni- 
versity. 

One of the faults of the high school at present is that 
it is not sufficiently responsive to the people's needs, and 
not attractive enough to attract even half of those complet- 
ing the common school course. Another fault is that 
the colleges and the universities have dominated it too 
much and held it in a groove, whereas the high schools 
should be next to the people, and further their interests; 
while the university, if it desires to be effective and helpful, 
should catch the spirit from the democratized high school, 
and make itself the climax of the best vocational and cul- 
tural education and life. The high school is doing a great 
work in the United States, and will still do much more as 
it becomes further established in rural communities ; also, 
its influence should largely stop the educational leak evident 
from a comparison of the large number of students every- 
where entering the high school with the small number 
who graduate from it. 

Normal Schools. — It was scarcely realized before the 
middle of the nineteenth century, how important it is that 
a teacher should be especially trained for his work. When 
it began to be seen that no school could prosper, and no 
educational progress be made until a trained and efficient 
corps of teachers was provided, city and state normal schools 



EDUCATION 367 

began to spring up, until now they are found in almost 
every state in the Union. They are supported by cities 
and by the state. Many states have several of these in- 
stitutions and they are doing splendid work by putting 
trained teachers in the public schools everywhere. 

Colleges and Universities. — It is very hard to define 
what is really meant when we call an institution a college 
or a university in the United States. Very many of our 
so-called colleges which are allowed to grant degrees are 
merely academies or high schools in fact, while many 
institutions called universities are only colleges. Some 
are denominational and sectarian, wholly supported by a 
church ; others get their support from tuition and private 
endowment ; while others derive their support from the 
state. About three fourths of the states now have state 
universities, and some states maintain more than one. 
About, one third of the university students in America are 
now in the state universities, many of which are in the 
front rank of sendee and scholarship. The state universi- 
ties and many others, as well as many colleges, correlate 
with the high schools, and allow the graduates of the 
secondary schools to matriculate without examination. 

Thus a child has free tuition and many other essentials 
provided for him in the public schools ; then the high school 
is opened to him; next the college or university offers 
him still further preparation for life. Few, if indeed any, 
other countries make such adequate provisions for the 
education of their future citizens as does the United States. 

Supervision of Public Schools. — School supervision 
varies in different states. Every state has a superintendent 
of public instruction, or commissioner of education, elected 
for a term of years in most states, and appointed by the 



368 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

governor in others. Again, nearly all of our states have a 
board of education, of which the state superintendent is 
a member. These officials have general supervision over 
all teachers and public schools of the state. Under these 
are county superintendents, and county boards of educa- 
tion, who generally supervise the work in the counties. 
The lowest units are the township and the district, which 
look after the employment of teachers, the equipment of 
schools, and minor details. All incorporated towns and 
cities have a supervising force in school boards, which 
employ superintendents or principals to manage the schools, 
a high school principal, and the other teachers. Ex- 
perience shows that efficient supervision comes by close 
organization, and that it is expedient and profitable to 
centralize authority and responsibility in school affairs. 

Support of the Public Schools. — The federal govern- 
ment is under no direct obligation to aid the school system 
of the United States, but it promoted the general welfare in 
aiding the new states (beginning with Ohio in 1802) by giving 
every sixteenth section of land in a congressional township for 
the use of public schools. Since 1848, the new states admitted 
have each received two sections ; and Utah received four. 
Nearly 70,000,000 acres have been thus turned over to the 
states and sold for a school fund, which fund may ever be 
increased, but it is inviolate; only the interest may be 
used. Besides this large amount of land, nearly 12,000,000' 
acres additional have been granted by the government for 
the establishment and support of universities and agri- 
cultural and industrial colleges in all the states; while 
more than half the states, to which public funds were dis- 
tributed during Jackson's administration, gave their 
share to their school fund. Through the sale of swamp 



EDUCATION 369 

and salt lands, a per cent of the proceeds of which in some 
states went to the support of schools, the permanent fund 
has also been increased. Dr. Guitteau, in his excellent 
discussion of this subject, has a diagram showing whence 
the school revenues come, and how they are raised. It is 
shown that nearly $400,000,000 is now spent annually on 
the common schools of the United States. Of this sum 
local taxation raises 68 per cent; state taxation yields 
15 per cent; miscellaneous sources (in many states this is 
composed of poll taxes, fines, and sales of liquor licenses) 
yield about 11 per cent; and the income from permanent 
funds furnishes about 6 per cent. Local taxation brings 
in the larger part of the educational funds for most of 
the states, but some states, particularly in the South, raise 
all or nearly all of their school funds by state taxation. 
This seems a poor policy, for it does not stimulate local 
interest in schools, nor does it awaken the best general 
school spirit. Also, it puts progressive and nonprogres- 
sive communities on the same basis. 

Efficiency Needed. — Quietly a revolution is going on in 
educational methods and the subject matter taught. The 
schools must get rid of fads and nonessentials, and teach 
those things effectively which the people most need in order 
to live well and prosper. Care must be taken, however, in 
educating pupils to earn a living, not to swing over to a 
purely material basis by making our work wholly practical, 
and forgetting that the pupil must also be taught ideals — 
those finer things in life to which no money value can be 
attached. 

Schools should be taught in attractive houses ; the state 
should compel attendance, as most states do now, so that 
it should not have to support and perhaps punish the igno- 



370 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

rant later ; rural schools should be consolidated and graded, 
and high schools should become more numerous in rural 
sections, so that the poorest children may have access to 
them. Many states now pay for the hauling of the rural 
children to common centers where a graded school and a 
high school are provided, and they find it a profitable 
investment, since it makes for better sanitation, better 
health, and far better instruction. A higher qualification 
is demanded of the teacher, and the day is past when 
mediocrity has any place in the schoolroom. Everywhere 
it is beginning to be recognized that progressive school 
work can be done only by an efficient, well-trained, and 
well-paid teacher. 

Cabinet Officer Needed. — Since 1867 we have had a 
bureau of education connected with the interior depart- 
ment. The head officer is called the commissioner of 
education, whose duty it is to publish statistics concerning 
the schools of the United States and issue annual reports. 
His work is important and valuable, but considering the 
importance of education, lying as it does at the very founda- 
tion of our national life, there should be, it would appear, 
a department of education, the secretary of which should 
be a member of the President's cabinet. Many foreign 
countries have long ago found this advisable and necessary. 
With the department of education might be joined a depart- 
ment of health, since these two go hand in hand. An 
arrangement of this sort would make for better organiza- 
tion and much more effective work all over the nation. No 
work is more sacred and vital than the training of our youth 
for future citizenship, and a cabinet department of edu- 
cation and health would add a dignity to the teaching pro- 
fession that nothing else can give. 



EDUCATION 371 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

Chancellor: Our Schools, Their Administration and Supervision, 
ch. XII. 

Eliot : Educational Reform, chs. X, XIII, XIV. 

Fish : The Development of American Nationality, ch. XXVIII. 

Forman: Advanced Civics, 351-358. 

Giddings : Democracy and Empire, ch. CIII. 

Guitteau : Government and Politics in the United States, ch. XVI. 

Hinsdale : American Government (4th ed.) , ch. LVL 

Kemp : History of Education, ch. XXVI. 

The Independent: August 3, 1911, 234-243. 

The World's Work : April, 1911, 14282-14290. 

Source Material and Supplementary Aids. — Reports of your city 
school board and city superintendent of schools. Reports of and 
bulletins of your county superintendent and state superintendent of 
schools. Reports of state normal schools, and state colleges and uni- 
versities, all show the progress of education in your city and state in 
education. 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1 . Why must the city, county, and state provide schools and edu- 
cate their youth ? 

2. What is the function of the public school? If enough money 
does not come from the state to have a long term and a good school, 
can the district afford to pay a tax? Why? 

3. How are high schools supported in your state? 

4. What is the purpose of a normal school? Why should the 
state support normal schools? 

5. Why should the state support colleges and universities? 

6. Why should a sane, compulsory education law be rigidly en- 
forced ? 

QUESTION FOR DEBATE 

Resolved, That rural and city communities alike should, through 
local taxation added to state aid, be compelled to have at least an 
eight months' school term. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

POLITICAL PARTIES OF TO-DAY AND THEIR ORGAN- 
IZATION 

Why have Parties ? — The history of all nations shows 
that it is practically impossible to get along without polit- 
ical parties in government. Greece and Rome, when re- 
publics, had parties which differed on social and economic 
questions. People differ on ideas of government as to 
what is best for a local community, state, or nation. When- 
ever political and social questions arouse such interest 
that two or more plausible methods of solution present 
themselves, men organize political parties. These groups 
give themselves certain names, or sometimes are named 
by their opponents. They are voluntary associations, 
which begin organizing, agitating the questions involved, 
and appealing to the public at large for support. Parties 
adopt a platform of principles, which seems to them to be 
a correct interpretation of the leading issues before the 
people, of what the people want, and how to secure it. In 
republics there seems to be no way of conducting govern- 
ment except through parties. The framers of the Consti- 
tution hoped to keep down party spirit, but in vain. Parties 
furnish a method by which public sentiment can crystallize. 
They arouse interest, and educate the masses on matters 
of government, wrongly sometimes, even to the point of 
civil strife, but yet they educate. They develop a machin- 
ery for electing certain men to office, and when they are 
elected, the party and the public expect them to carry out 

372 



POLITICAL PARTIES OF TO-DAY 373 

the party principles advocated. The party is the best 
medium, locally or nationally, to get quick action on meas- 
ures, if the officers chosen are true to their preelection prom- 
ises. If they are not true, the next election generally 
puts another party in power. On local issues, small units 
or groups organize for given definite objects, such as im- 
provement of roads and streets, and city ownership of 
water works, in which national issues are not in the least 
concerned. Such questions arouse public interest, yet 
they should never be mixed and confused with partisan 
politics, but should be settled on their own merits. National 
parties are much more permanent than local parties ; and 
if they stand for fundamental principles, they wield a 
great influence in shaping a nation's history. Edmund 
Burke gives an excellent definition for a political party, 
on which it would be difficult to improve: "'A party," 
he says, " is a body of men united for promoting by their 
joint endeavors the national interest upon some principle 
upon which they are all agreed." 

Parties of the Past. — Early in American history, there 
arose two major parties based on fundamental differences 
in the interpretation of the Constitution. The Federalist 
party stood for a strongly centralized government, few 
rights to the states, and a broad, liberal interpretation of 
the Constitution. It was in power until 1801, when it lost 
control of the government and never regained it under that 
name. Many of its principles reappeared in the National 
Republican party, from 1825 to 1840; in the Whig party 
from 1840 to i860, and finally in the Republican party of 
to-day. The Republican-Democratic party, the opponent 
of the Federalists, stood for a strict construction of the 
Constitution and more rights for the states. It was in 



374 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

control nationally from 1801 until 1861, except during two 
terms. It dropped the name Republican during Jack- 
son's administration, and generally speaking, is the Demo- 
cratic party of to-day. It must be understood that parties 
change and vary as the times change, and the courses they 
take are sometimes contradictory and illogical. Many short- 
lived minor parties such as the Antimasonic party, Free 
Soilers, Know-No things, Green backers, and Populists are 
merely mentioned here, since none of them obtained 
national control. Some were sporadic without any per- 
manent effects ; while others left their impress upon one or 
both the dominant major parties before they died, and 
their principles were carried out by them. 

Present-day Parties. — The Republican party has been 
in control of the national government most of the time 
since i860. It has consistently stood for a liberal interpre- 
tation of the Constitution, a strong central government, a 
protective tariff, increased army and navy, and, in recent 
years, for colonial expansion and a single gold standard. 
It began as a radical party, but it has become for the most 
part conservative. At present, however, a large wing of 
the party is swinging toward radicalism. 

The Democratic party has stood generally for a strict 
interpretation of the Constitution and states' rights. It 
has always opposed a protective tariff and imperialism ; 
though divided on the money question, a majority of the 
party was for a time opposed to the gold standard. It 
has, in recent years, changed from a conservative to a 
radical progressive party, has favored a tariff for revenue 
only, strict regulatipn of common carriers, a divorcement 
of business and politics, an income tax, and the publicity 
of all campaign expenses before elections. 



POLITICAL PARTIES OF TO-DAY 375 

The Socialist Labor Party. — This is one division of 
the Socialists, which has had a national organization and 
candidates since 1892. In 191 2 it adopted a very radical 
platform in which it gave its views about social conditions, 
condemned the capital-owning class, but offered little in 
solution for the problems it declared existed. It polled 
only a very small vote. 

The Socialist party, organized in 1904, is a crystalliza- 
tion of several minor socialist and labor parties organized 
to help labor and the toiling, wage-earning masses. It 
has elected one member to Congress, and a number of 
mayors in our cities. In its 1908 platform it advocated 
collective ownership of all industries to be organized 
on a national scale where competition has ceased to exist, 
and demanded improvement of industrial conditions. In 
191 2 the platform called for the abolition of the Senate, 
of the veto power of the President, and for the abolition 
of the power of the Supreme Court to declare laws uncon- 
stitutional. It demanded a bureau of health, the abolition 
of the federal district courts and the United States Circuit 
Courts of Appeals, and wanted other federal judges elected 
by the people for short terms. The platform proposed 
many amendments to the Constitution, to settle what 
seemed to them serious problems of state. The Socialist 
party polled over 400,000 votes in 1908, and more than 
doubled that vote in the campaign of 191 2. 

The Prohibition party has had candidates for President 
since 1872. It stands above all things for absolute pro- 
hibition of the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors. 
Its main work, so far, has been educational, and in some 
states its agitation has forced one or both the major parties 
to restrict or abolish the liquor traffic. 



376 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

The Progressive Party. — As a result of a bitter pre- 
convention campaign between President W. H. Taft and 
ex-President Theodore Roosevelt, and of contested state 
delegations at the Chicago Republican national convention 
in 1912, the followers of Mr. Roosevelt withdrew and 
launched a new party. This party held its first national 
convention also at Chicago, in August of the same year, 
and adopted a long platform, which includes many different 
subjects. Its principal declarations are in favor of direct 
primaries for nomination of all officials, direct election 
of United States senators, the initiative, referendum, and 
recall in the states, woman suffrage, the reform of legal 
procedure and judicial methods, minimum wage standards 
for women, and old age pension acts. It drew support 
from all parties, particularly on its crusade against the 
" unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt 
politics." Its principal support came from the Republi- 
can party, and its candidates polled the second highest 
popular and electoral vote in the national elections of 
1912. 

Organization of Parties. -- There must be more or less 
machinery in managing a political party if its various 
elements are to cohere and act in unison. Beginning at 
the bottom, there will be found almost everywhere in a 
ward or a precinct, village, township, or town, a party 
organization just preceding and during a campaign. These 
lesser organizations consolidate into county or city organiza- 
tions, which in turn choose members of congressional dis- 
trict, state, and national organizations. Generally, con- 
gressional district organizations select one member each, 
who form a state central committee which chooses a chair- 
man, and this committee directs the campaign, state and 



POLITICAL PARTIES OF TO-DAY 377 

national, arid even reaches down into city and county 
affairs. At the national convention each state chooses 
one member for a national committeeman who serves for 
four years. The national committee selects the place for 
holding a national convention, names its temporary chair- 
man, and manages the campaign. It generally subdivides 
and establishes headquarters at several places for organiza- 
tion purposes ; sends out speakers, scatters an enormous 
quantity of literature, and does an immense amount of 
personal work for its ticket. The state committee is pri- 
marily interested in the state ticket, but is also active in 
local tickets in cities and counties. Local committees 
usually have aspiring leaders who stir up sentiment for the 
whole ticket, from township assessor to President of the 
United States. Electing a county, state, and national 
ticket is a tremendous task, and requires great skill and 
sagacity. Platforms are drawn up by conventions, local, 
state, and national, setting forth the party's views on im- 
portant questions. These platforms often cause party 
splits, but generally they help to unite and weld a party 
into a solid phalanx if there is a good organization. 

Sometimes bosses and machines control party organiza- 
tions, by skillful manipulation of primaries or conventions 
when the public is not much interested. A boss and ma- 
chine are often interested in selfish ends, and dictate to 
the electorate who shall have the offices, what shall be the 
issues, and even force candidates to do their personal 
bidding or accept defeat. However, the day of bosses 
is about over, but there will always be machine politics 
as long as the public is not thoroughly aroused to what its 
duties are in elections. Dr. Samuel Johnson once said : 
" In political regulations good can never be complete, 



378 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

it can only be predominant." The chief end of a party 
should be to make good predominant. 

Popularizing the Party. — One of the chief purposes of 
political managers is to popularize both the party's prin- 
ciples as expressed in the platform, and its candidates when 
nominated. To do this the party machinery must be 
made democratic and wise leaders will give the people 
a chance to express their views in platforms and upon 
candidates for office. The progressive element of all parties 
to-day is rightly seeking to put men and principles before 
mere scrambling for office, is liberalizing conventions 
which are called to choose men and candidates, and trying 
to free their parties from gang rule. 

As has been shown, committees have charge of political 
activities, from the ward or township to the nation. These 
committees decide whether candidates shall be nominated 
locally, or, in state politics, in case the law does not do 
so, by the convention or the primary method. The pri- 
mary movement is now very popular, and some states use 
it even for choosing delegates to the national conventions. 
Primaries are called by the party organization of a city 
or a county to choose delegates to a nominating conven- 
tion, which may then register their votes for candidates 
for the offices to be filled, and make a platform. The most 
democratic primary method is that in which the people 
vote directly for their choice for candidates for the various 
offices under a well-regulated state primary law. Formerly 
the states took little interest in methods used by parties to 
nominate men for office, but to-day practically all states 
have laws regulating them. 

Advantages and Disadvantages of Direct Primaries. — 
Primaries are called by the local committees, except in the 



POLITICAL PARTIES OF TO-DAY 379 

case of state officers, when they are called by the state 
committee, and only those who are affiliated with the party 
arc allowed to vote. Men must declare what party they 
belong to, and generally must promise to support their 
party's ticket before they can vote in a primary. This 
is sometimes embarrassing, and sometimes prevents inde- 
pendent voters from appearing at the primaries ; but at 
present it seems the best way known to prevent the opposite 
party from sending voters to the primary and purposely 
nominating a weak candidate whom they can easily defeat. 
The direct primary method of nominating candidates 
has grown much in favor of late. One good feature of 
this law is that any one can enter the race for office and 
place himself before all the people. It has a few objections, 
in that it compels a man to pay his expenses and make two 
races in case he is nominated ; also, apart from the heavy 
cost, many good men shrink from the struggle to gain a 
nomination on account of personalities and often abuse 
in primaries, as well as in elections proper. Frequently, 
too, when there are many candidates for the same office, 
a weak man may, with a comparatively small vote, beat 
strong men. This condition of affairs frequently prevents 
strong men from becoming candidates. 

Any party machinery, to be successful, must arouse 
interest and get the best element to the polls. If this can 
be done, the public cannot help but be benefited. In 
some states men may be nominated for local or state offices 
by filing a petition with the secretary of state, signed by 
a certain number of legal voters. This method is freq uently 
used successfully by independent voters in the case of candi- 
dates for city and county offices. 

National Party Machinery. — Generally, congressional 



380 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

district conventions select the two delegates and their alter- 
nates to the national convention, also a candidate for 
elector. The state convention appoints four delegates 
from the state at large, who correspond to the two United 
States senators. In some states, as in Oregon and Wis- 
consin, they are all nominated by primaries. The state 
convention generally chooses also the candidates for elec- 
tors at large. This constitutes the machinery necessary 
in a state for a presidential campaign. The national 
committee of the major parties meets, usually in December 
or January preceding a national campaign, at the call of 
the chairman or, should there be no chairman, of other 
officials, They discuss for a few days party plans, probable 
issues, and the general outlook, but their most important 
work is to select a city for the convention. Only a large 
city can handle such an enormous gathering as generally 
assembles when a national convention of Republicans or 
Democrats meets. A city having good railroad facilities, 
a large hall, and one that will donate the largest sum to 
the committee for expenses, which are heavy, is generally 
selected by it for the convention. 

All state delegations are selected by June, and the con- 
ventions of the two great parties are generally held in June 
or July. The convention meets, is called to order by the 
chairman of the national committee, selects its temporary 
organization officers, and appoints at least four regular 
committees : on organization, on rules, on platform, and on 
credentials. The organization completed and the platform 
agreed upon, balloting for the nomination of President be- 
gins. Candidates for President and Vice President being 
nominated the work of the convention ends, and then and 
there begins the real work of the national committee. 



POLITICAL PARTIES OF TO-DAY 38 1 

A new committee is chosen for each campaign by the 
national convention, usually at the suggestion of the state 
delegations, but experienced politicians are often reelected 
on the new committee. One wing of the Republican party, 
in 191 2, strongly insisted that members of the national 
committee, chosen in some states by state-wide primaries, 
should replace all old members from these states who had 
been chosen four years before. This demand was made 
when a subcommittee of the national committee met prior 
to the convention to hear contests among state delegations. 
Had new members been allowed a part in the deliberations 
before the national convention had completed its work of 
nominating a ticket, a new precedent would have been 
established, and it would have especially aided one candi- 
date, so it was not allowed. National headquarters are 
selected, with the chairman and secretary in charge. In 
other important cities, other members of the national 
committee are in charge. 

Political Machinery at Work. — Congressmen are elected 
in the same year as the President; also, in that year one 
third of the United States senators will be chosen. State 
legislatures in most states are chosen the same year, as 
well as county and even township officers. A congressional 
campaign committee is therefore organized, with a con- 
gressman as its chairman, as a rule, which acts in harmony 
with the national committee. Also, wherever an election 
of state and county tickets is to be held, the state and local 
machinery cooperates with both the congressional and 
national committees, Each party publishes a campaign 
book having in it what the committee thinks is good material 
for their party. The weak points of the other party are 
also emphasized. Press agents are appointed, and the 



382 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

press is full of the utterances of the candidates and promi- 
nent leaders ; soon the country has a legion of orators and 
stump speakers at work trying to arouse popular enthu- 
siasm. Formerly presidential candidates themselves did 
not travel about the country, but in the last few campaigns 
they have done this. Literally tons upon tons of speeches, 
posters, lithographs, and pamphlets are scattered over the 
country. It costs enormous sums to manage a campaign. 

Raising Campaign Funds. — Many speakers must be 
paid salaries for their time, and even if they donate their 
time, their traveling and other expenses must be paid. 
Then, the expense of expressage, postage, telegrams, and 
hall rent is enormous. Who pays it? It is clear that the 
candidates themselves could not possibly do it. Prior 
to 1880, campaign expenses were not so enormous, there 
was not such a compact organization, and so assessments 
from officeholders paid the cost. Civil service laws stopped 
that, and great corporations and business interests were 
asked to contribute. The fact that these business organi- 
zations gave enormous sums for campaigns, and often to 
both parties, soon convinced the people that they expected 
favors and special privileges from officials elected. Then 
arose a great demand that a list of the contributors to 
campaign funds, with the sums given, should be made 
public. 

In 1907 Congress passed a law forbidding a national 
bank or other corporation to contribute to a fund at any 
election when a President or member of Congress is chosen. 
In 1 9 10 a law was enacted requiring the treasurer of each 
national committee < to make a sworn statement of all 
contributions given him, and compelling its publication 
after the election. The law was amended by the sixty- 



POLITICAL PARTIES OF TO-DAY 383 

second Congress so as to compel chairmen of the different 
parties to publish every contribution of $100 or more re- 
ceived by them, and every expenditure of $10 or more before 
the presidential and congressional elections, and also the 
names of donors of large subscriptions. Public sentiment 
was greatly developed by one of the presidential candi- 
dates in the campaign of 1908 asking that the people send 
dollar contributions, and declaring that only small con- 
tributions would be accepted, and that these would be 
published before the election. 

The public wants to know to-day before it acts, where 
funds for electing its servants, the officers, come from, and 
undoubtedly there will soon be an act to compel the national 
committee to publish the names of all its contributors 
and the respective amounts with all its expenditures before 
the election. This will enable the people to judge whether 
or not special privileges are sought. Members of Congress 
must now file a sworn statement of their campaign receipts 
and expenditures in procuring nominations and in their 
elections. A candidate for senator may not spend more 
than $10,000, and any candidate for representative more 
than $5000 in his campaign for election. Some states 
compel a sworn statement of expenditures in primaries or 
conventions, and also elections of their state and local 
officers. A committee of the United States Senate sitting 
during the recess of Congress in the fall of 191 2, carefully 
looked into the contributions to the election funds of the 
campaigns of 1904 and 1908, and made some startling dis- 
coveries concerning the contributors to the election funds 
of the Presidents chosen in those years. 

Political Problems of To-day. — The problems which 
confront a nation are constantly changing ; those considered 



384 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

of minor importance to-day may be momentous in a few 
years from now ; and often those seemingly great, and 
dividing parties to-day, are of little consequence. Politi- 
cians sometimes magnify small issues for campaign use, 
which are easy of solution. The really great issues before 
the people, which will require our best intelligence and 
probably years for their right and proper solution, are the 
tariff question, which has divided the parties for a long time ; 
the question of regulating great corporations, especially 
railroads and trusts doing interstate business and those 
which have stifled competition ; the reform of the court 
system by making justice cheap and speedy, but without 
destroying the courts as a great bulwark of our liberty, 
and a protector of our lives and property ; the conserva- 
tion of our natural resources, such as minerals, timber, and 
water ; the real sphere of the federal government, and the 
rights of the states so that there may be no encroachment 
of either; the question of protecting labor and capital, 
so that each may have its rights without constant strife 
and the suffering of the public as an innocent party ; the 
question of a more rational cultivation of the soil, to increase 
production and thus cheapen the cost of living ; aid in 
the improvement of waterways and roads to cheapen trans- 
portation ; the conservation of human health and life in 
prevention of food and drug adulterations ; the arbitra- 
tion between nations of international disputes ; a more 
democratic method of nominating and choosing our Presi- 
dents ; and a quicker method of remedying the evils com- 
mitted by our official classes in the states and the nation 
than by the slow and almost ineffectual method of impeach- 
ment. To this list of problems, others may be added, and 
others will constantly arise. It is not in the province of this 



POLITICAL PARTIES OF TO~DAY 385 

book to discuss these problems, but they can be made 
topics of useful investigation by teacher and student. 

Our Party Government Incomplete. — Political parties 
will probably continue in the United States to give as good 
expression as is possible to public sentiment upon vital 
questions. It is clear to our students of political institu- 
tions, that we cannot have party government as con- 
templated by the framers of the Constitution, nor party 
government as is understood, for example, in England, 
where the whole government rises or falls as a party is 
able to cohere and give expression to its policies. With 
our government we may have the two houses of Congress 
of opposite parties ; or if of the same party, they may be 
different from the President, whose veto power can check 
their actions. Again, the party may have factions in either 
or both houses, and thus not be able to get the popular 
will into law. From the end of Jackson's administration 
to McKinley's administration there was no real unity of ac- 
tion in all departments of our government, except during 
the Civil War. In England or France, when a party fails 
to suit the public, it is put out of power. In our country, 
this cannot be done until the end of the term for which it 
was elected. It is clear that we cannot locate responsi- 
bility easily or get our wishes readily into law. This has 
given rise to the thought that our Constitution was not 
framed so much to aid democracy, as to check it. How- 
ever, to-day as our electorate is constantly becoming 
better informed, public opinion forces action upon really 
vital questions. 

The Independent Voter. — The strictly party politicians 
have learned that party label and designation will not 
stand against men and principles now. The thinking, inde- 



386 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

pendent voter often aids the party of his preference by 
voting against its candidates when he thinks them unfit 
for the position they seek, or not true to the principles he 
believes in. This breaking of party lines is a breaking 
away from prejudice, and a response to intelligence. In- 
stead of destroying parties, it makes them more careful. 
It may make realignments, but that will not hurt the 
country. A party's creed will probably come into force 
quicker as this independent vote increases. In recent 
campaigns in several states, notably Indiana, Minnesota, 
Ohio, and Tennessee, there was elected a governor of one 
party while the electoral vote for President the same year 
went to the opposite party. The drift has been toward 
great personalities in recent campaigns, because of the 
public confidence in them regardless of party labels. This 
places increased responsibility upon both voters and 
officials, as each of us learns our highest duties to our 
country. 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

Atlantic Monthly: March, iqii, 289. 

Boynton: School Civics, 309-324. 

Bryce : The American Commonwealth, II (3d ed.), 3-39. 

Current Literature : September, 191 2. 

Fish : The Development of American Nationality, ch. XXIX. 

Forman : Advanced Civics, chs. XI, XXX. 

Garner : Government in the United States, ch. VIII. 

Guitteau : Government and Politics in the United States, 445-472. 

Hart : Actual Government, chs. IV-V. 

Kaye: Readings in Civil Government, 369-392. 

Munro : The Government of American Cities, ch. VII. 

North American Review: January, 191 1, 83. 

Stanwood : History of the Presidency. 

The Outlook: August 17, 191 2. 

Woodburn : Political Parties and Party Problems, 94-148. 



POLITICAL PARTIES OF TO~DAY 387 

Source Material and Supplementary Aids. — i\ny books of past 
platforms of American political parties. Richardson's Messages of 
the Presidents may perhaps be obtained free through your congress- 
man. Get copies of your primary election laws ; also copies of 
statutes on local, state, and federal election laws. Copies of party 
platforms from newspapers and magazines. Sample ballots. Watch 
proceedings of conventions nominating your local, state, and national 
tickets. Campaign textbooks of different parties. 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. Why is party government essential in a republic? 

2. Name leading political parties in American history prior to 
1850, and state leading principles. 

3. Name the parties since 1850, including all those of to-day, and 
give their principles. 

4. What makes men stand together in the support of party plat- 
forms and nominees? 

5. What will split and defeat parties? 

6. Designate the steps taken in nominating a ticket for President. 

7. How are funds now raised to manage a campaign? 

8. What change, if any, has taken place in the modern campaign 
management ? 

9. What remedies can you suggest so that a President may be 
nominated in a more democratic manner than at present ? 



CHAPTER XXVII 

DUTIES OF THE CITIZEN 

Inheritance. — It is not the purpose to go into a scien- 
tific discussion of heredity and the differences of opinion 
in regard to it. Science has clearly shown that health 
tendencies are inherited, as well as sick tendencies and dis- 
ease ; and that those of health, if cultivated, soon get the 
mastery; also, it has clearly shown that environment 
means much more to life than hereditary tendencies. An 
anaemic body, placed amid proper surroundings with nutri- 
tious food and plenty of pure air, may soon work out its 
transformation, while the most robust body may soon suc- 
cumb to disease in an unhealthful locality, and for want of 
proper care. The greatest inheritance that can come to 
any human being is to be born with a sound, healthy 
body and mind, of clean, vigorous parents ; the second 
essential is to have a mother who recognizes the importance 
of keeping the child well and giving it good rearing. A good 
home exists primarily for the welfare of the child, and the 
promotion of a better general welfare in the community 
for the present and future generations. This means that 
it is a good citizen's bounden duty to educate his children, 
in which efforts the state stands ready, with the open door 
of the free public school, to second his desires and ambitions. 
Every child thus educated, as a citizen of a community, 
state, and nation, owes to parents for good rearing, and 
to the state for opportunities afforded, a debt of gratitude 



DUTIES OF THE CITIZEN 389 

which can never be repaid except in the service of good 
citizenship for better future conservation of health and 
greater efficiency. 

Support the Government. — Every community to-day 
is demanding that the coming citizen shall know more of 
political affairs — know how to promote the good, and 
thwart and check the evil. To do this, the purpose and 
mechanism of our government, local, state, and national, 
must be better understood. The public school, college, 
university, platform, and daily press give ample oppor- 
tunity for study of the science of government, its weakness 
and strength. Good citizenship calls upon every individual 
to support the government patriotically in time of peace 
by listing property fairly for taxation and paying taxes; 
by doing jury duty when called upon ; by filling an office, 
when elected, with the greatest ability and honesty ; by 
payment of debts, so that honor and honesty may prevail ; 
by serving the nation faithfully and to the best of his 
ability in time of war ; by seeing that law is enforced and 
that wrongs are righted. If laws are wrong and injustice 
is done, there are legal ways to amend laws and secure jus- 
tice, and any community may be depended upon to do its 
duty in this respect if the wrongs are properly presented. 

Voting. — In our government every citizen is a partner, 
and the business is well conducted only when every part- 
ner is intelligent, wide-awake, and active. Each partner is 
responsible, if results are bad and the community or state 
is misgoverned, to the degree that he supports bad prin- 
ciples, and helps choose a bad set of directors as officials 
or agents to carry into effect the law and the public 
will. Casting a ballot is a sacred privilege, and with it 
goes a sanction, if concurred in by a majority, that cer- 



390 THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

tain principles and certain officials shall prevail. A good 
citizen should so prize the ballot that he will attend cau- 
cuses and primaries whenever held, and see to it that good 
men only are nominated. If the good citizens do not take 
part in the primaries, they should not complain of the ticket 
nominated by bosses and the questionable element in the 
community. The good citizen must keep up with the 
trend of the times, must be radical enough to be progres- 
sive, but not so radical as to be irrational. By keeping in 
touch with the world of thought, he sees what is needed 
to make a better community for him and his neighbors, 
and it ill becomes one to let things drift and do nothing. 
One of the greatest sources of evil in our country lies in 
the fact that so many of our otherwise good citizens care 
so little about their own and their neighbors' welfare that 
they do not vote. How can a partnership be well managed 
and successful if many of the best partners pay no atten- 
tion to the business and allow it to be conducted by inferior 
hands ? 

Ideals of Success. — No man ever succeeded who de- 
pended upon blind chance. Ideals and dreams of to-day, 
if they are rational, and have thought behind them, become 
realities to-morrow. These ideals are useful if they image 
and interpret what the public really needs in its onward, 
progressive march. To have proper ideals, and cleanliness, 
physical and mental, is an absolute necessity for efficiency 
in service and the highest good. Ideals, to be worth any- 
thing, must contemplate labor, sacrifice, and duty, with a 
sense of realization that all labor that really contributes 
to the social dividend and assets of usefulness, is honorable. 
High ideals, coupled with earnest labor, will make any 
individual or community prosperous and successful. 



DUTIES OF THE CITIZEN 391 

LIBRARY REFERENCES 

Allen: Civics and Health, ,328-356. 

Blackmar: Elements of Sociology, 269-274; 292-309. 

Forman : Advanced Civics, 95-105. 

Garner : Government in the United States, ch. XX. 

Kaye: Readings in Civil Government. 95-100; 111-128. 

Wilcox : The American City, 402-416. 



AETICLES OF CONFEDERATION 



Articles of Confederation and Perpetual, Union between the 
States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island 
and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New 
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia 

Article I. — The style of this confederacy shall be, u The United 
States of America." 

Art. II. — Each State retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independ- 
ence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right which is not by this con- 
federation expressly delegated to the United States in Congress assembled. 

Art. III. — The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of 
friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of -their 
liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to 
assist each other against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, 
or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other 
pretense whatever. 

Art. IV. — The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friendship and 
intercourse among the people of the different States in this Union, the 
free inhabitants of each of these States, paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives 
from justice excepted, shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of 
free citizens in the several States ; and the people of each State shall 
have free ingress and regress to and from any other State, and shall enjoy 
therein all the privileges of trade and commerce, subject to the same 
duties, impositions, and restrictions, as the inhabitants thereof respec- 
tively; provided that such restrictions shall not extend so far as to prevent 
the removal of property imported into any State, to any other State of 
which the owner is an inhabitant ; provided, also, that no imposition, 
duties, or restriction, shall be laid by any State on the property of the 
United States or either of them. 

If any person guilty of, or charged with, treason, felony, or other high 
misdemeanor in any State, shall flee from justice, and be found in any of 
the United States, he shall, upon demand of the governor or executive 
power of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, and removed to 
the State having jurisdiction of his offense. 

Full faith and credit shall be given, in each of these States, to the 
records, acts, and judicial proceedings of the courts and magistrates of 
every other State. 

Art. V. — For the more convenient management of the general inter- 
ests of the United States, delegates shall be annually appointed in such 

393 



394 ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION 

manner as the legislature of each State shall direct, to meet in Congress 
on the first Monday in November, in every year, with a power reserved to 
each State to recall its delegates, or any of them, at any time within the 
year, and to send others in their stead for the remainder of the year. 

No State shall be represented in Congress by less than two, nor by 
more than seven members ; and no person shall be capable of being a del- 
egate for more than three years, in any term of, six years ; nor shall any 
person, being a delegate, be capable of holding any office under the 
United States, for which he, or another for his benefit, receives any salary, 
fees, or emolument of any kind. 

Each State shall maintain its own delegates in any meeting of the 
States and while they act as members of the committee of the States. 

In determining questions in the United States in Congress assembled, 
each State shall have one vote. 

Freedom of speech and debate in Congress shall not be impeached or 
questioned in any court or place out of Congress ; and the members of 
Congress shall be protected in their persons from arrests and imprison- 
ments during the time of their going to and from, and attendance on 
Congress, except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace. 

Art. VI. — No State, without the consent of the United States, in 
Congress assembled, shall send any embassy to, or receive any embassy 
from, or enter into any conference, agreement, alliance, or treaty, with 
any king, prince, or state ; nor shall any person holding any office of 
profit or trust under the United States, or any of them, accept of any pres- 
ent, emolument, office, or title of any kind whatever, from any king, 
prince, or foreign state ; nor shall the United States, in Congress assem- 
bled, or any of them, grant any title of nobility. 

No two or more States shall enter into any treaty, confederation, or 
alliance whatever between them, without the consent of the United 
States, in Congress assembled, specifying accurately the purposes for 
which the same is to be entered into, and how long it shall continue. 

No States shall lay any imposts or duties which may interfere with 
any stipulations in treaties entered into by the United States, in Congress 
assembled, with any king, prince, or state, in pursuance of any treaties 
already proposed by Congress to the courts of France and Spain. 

No vessels of war shall be kept up in time of peace, by any State, except 
such number only as shall be deemed necessary, by the United States in 
Congress assembled, for the defense of such State or its trade ; nor shall 
any body of forces be kept up, by any State, in time of peace, except such 
number only as, in the judgment of the United States, in Congress as- 
sembled, shall be deemed requisite to garrison the forts necessary for the 
defense of such State ; but every State shall always keep up a well regu- 
lated and disciplined militia, sufficiently armed and accoutred, and shall 
provide and constantly have ready for use, in public stores, a due number 
of field-pieces and tents, and a proper quantity of arms, ammunition, and 
camp equipage. 

No State shall engage in any war without the consent of the United 
States, in Congress assembled, unless such State be actually invaded by 
enemies, or shall have received certain advice of a resolution being 
formed by some nation of Indians to invade such State, and the danger 
is so imminent as not to admit of a delay till the United States, in Congress 
assembled, can be consulted ; nor shall any State grant commissions to 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION 395 

any ships or vessels of war, nor letters of marque or reprisal, except it be 
after a declaration of war by the United States, in Congress assembled, 
and then only against the kingdom or state, and the subjects thereof 
against which war has been so declared, and under such regulations as 
shall be established by the United States, in Congress assembled, unless 
such State be infested by pirates, in which case vessels of war may be fit- 
ted out for that occasion, and kept so long as the danger shall continue, or 
until the United States, in Congress assembled, shall determine otherwise. 

Art. VII. — When land forces are raised by any State for the common 
defense, all officers of or under the rank of colonel, shall be appointed by 
the legislature of each State respectively by whom such forces shall be 
raised, or in such manner as such State shall direct, and all vacancies 
shall be filled up by the State which first made the appointment. 

Art. VIII. — All charges of war, and all -other expenses that shall be 
incurred for the common defense or general welfare, and allowed by the 
United States in Congress assembled, shall be defrayed out of a common 
treasury, which shall be supplied by the several States, in proportion to 
the value of all land within each State, granted to, or surveyed for, any 
person, as such land and the buildings and improvements thereon shall be 
estimated according to such mode as the United States, in Congress assem- 
bled, shall, from time to time, direct and appoint. The taxes for paying 
that proportion shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction of 
the legislatures of the several States, within the time agreed upon by the 
United States, in Congress assembled. 

Art. IX. — The United States, in .Congress assembled, shall have the 
sole and exclusive right and power of determining on peace and war, ex- 
cept in the cases mentioned in the sixth Article ; of sending and receiving 
ambassadors ; entering into treaties and alliances, provided that no treaty 
of commerce shall be made whereby the legislative power of the re- 
spective States shall be restrained from imposing such imposts and duties 
on foreigners, as their own people are subjected to, or from prohibiting the 
exportation or importation of any species of goods or commodities what- 
soever; of establishing rules for deciding, in all cases, what captures on 
land or water shall be legal, and in what manner prizes taken by land or 
naval forces in the service of the United States, shall be divided or appro- 
priated ; of granting letters of marque and reprisal in times of peace ; 
appointing courts for the trial of piracies and felonies committed on the 
high seas ; and establishing courts for receiving and determining finally 
appeals in all cases of captures ; provided that no member of Congress 
shall be appointed a judge of any of the said courts. 

The United States, in Congress assembled, shall also be the last resort 
on appeal, in all disputes and differences now subsisting, or that hereafter 
may arise between two or more States concerning boundary, jurisdiction, 
or any other cause whatever; which authority shall always be exercised 
in the manner following : Whenever the legislative or executive authority, 
or lawful agent of any State in controversy with another, shall present a 
petition to Congress, stating the matter in question, and praying for a 
hearing, notice thereof shall be given by order of Congress, to the legisla- 
tive or executive authority of the other State in controversy, and a day 
assigned for the appearance of the parties by their lawful agents, who 
shall then be directed to appoint, by joint consent, commissioners or 
judges to constitute a court for hearing and determining the matter in 



396 ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION 

question; but if they cannot agree, Congress shall name three persons 
out of each of the United States, and from the list of such persons each 
party shall alternately strike out one, the petitioners beginning, until 
the number shall be reduced to thirteen; and from that number not less 
than seven nor more than nine names, as Congress shall direct, shall, in 
the presence of Congress, be drawn out by lot; and the persons whose 
names shall be so drawn, or any five of them, shall be commissioners or 
judges, to hear and finally determine the controversy, so always as a major 
part of the judges, who shall hear the cause, shall agree in the determina- 
tion; and if either party shall neglect to attend at the day appointed, 
without showing reasons which Congress shall judge sufficient, or being 
present, shall refuse to strike, the Congress shall proceed to nominate 
three persons out of each State, and the secretary of Congress shall strike 
in behalf of such party absent or refusing; and the judgment and sen- 
tence of the court, to be appointed in the manner before prescribed, shall 
be final and conclusive ; and if any of the parties shall refuse to submit 
to the authority of such court, or to appear or defend their claim or 
cause, the court shall nevertheless proceed to pronounce sentence or judg- 
ment, which shall in like manner be final and decisive ; the judgment or 
sentence and other proceedings being in either case transmitted to Con- 
gress, and lodged among the acts of Congress for the security of the 
parties concerned; provided, that every commissioner, before he sits in 
judgment, shall take an oath, to be administered by one of the judges of 
the supreme or superior court of the State where the cause shall be tried, 
" well and truly to hear and determine the matter in question, according 
to the best of his judgment, without favor, affection, or hope of reward." 
Provided, also, that no State shall be deprived of territory for the benefit 
of the United States. 

All controversies concerning the private right of soil claimed under 
different grants of two or more States, whose jurisdictions, as they may 
respect such lands, and the States which passed such grants are adjusted, 
the said grants or either of them being at the same time claimed to have 
originated antecedent to such settlement of jurisdiction, shall, on the peti- 
tion of either party to the Congress of the United States, be finally deter- 
mined, as near as may be, in the same manner as is before prescribed for 
deciding disputes respecting territorial jurisdiction between different 
States. 

The United States, in Congress assembled, shall also have the sole and 
exclusive right and power of regulating the alloy and value of coin struck 
by their own authority, or by that of the respective States ; fixing the 
standard of weights and measures throughout the United States ; regulat- 
ing the trade and managing all affairs with the Indians not members of 
any of the States ; provided that the legislative right of any State, within 
its own limits, be not infringed or violated ; establishing and regulating 
post offices from one State to another throughout all the United States, 
and exacting such postage on the papers passing through the same, as 
may be requisite to defray the expenses of the said office ; appointing all 
officers of the land forces in the service of the United States, excepting 
regimental officers ; appointing all the officers of the naval forces, and 
commissioning all officers' whatever in the service of the United States; 
making rules for the government and regulation of the said land and 
naval forces, and directing their operations. 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION 397 

The United States, in Congress assembled, shall have authority to ap- 
point a committee, to sit in the recess of Congress, to be denominated 
"A Committee of the States," and to consist of one delegate from each 
State ; and to appoint such other committees and civil officers as may be 
necessary for managing the general affairs of the United States under 
their direction ; to appoint one of their number to preside, provided that 
no person be allowed to serve in the office of president more than one 
year in any term of three years ; to ascertain the necessary sums of 
money to be raised for the service of the United States, and to appropriate 
and apply the same for defraying the public expenses ; to borrow money 
or emit bills on the credit of the United States, transmitting every half 
year to the respective States an account of the sums of money so bor- 
rowed or emitted ; to build and equip a navy ; to agree upon the number 
of land forces, and to make requisitions from each State for its quota, in 
proportion to the number of white inhabitants in such State, which requisi- 
tion shall be binding ; and thereupon the Legislature of each State shall 
appoint the regimental officers, raise the men, and clothe, arm, and equip 
them in a soldier-like manner at the expense of the United States ; and 
the officers and men so clothed, armed, and equipped shall march to the 
place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the United States, in 
Congress assembled ; but if the United States, in Congress assembled, 
shall, on consideration of circumstances, judge proper that any State 
should not raise men, or should raise a smaller number than its quota, and 
that any other State should raise a greater number of men than the quota 
thereof, such extra number shall be raised, officered, clothed, armed, and 
equipped in the same manner as the quota of such State, unless the Leg- 
islature of such State shall judge that such extra number can not be 
safely spared out of the same, in which case they shall raise, officer, 
clothe, arm, and equip as many of such extra number as they judge can 
be safely spared, and the officers and men so clothed, armed, and equipped 
shall march to the place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the 
United States, in Congress assembled. 

The United States, in Congress assembled, shall never engage in a war, 
nor grant letters of marque and reprisal in time of peace, nor enter into 
any treatise or alliances, nor coin money, nor regulate the value thereof, 
nor ascertain the sums and expenses necessary for the defense and welfare 
of the United States, or any of them, nor emit bills, nor borrow money 
on the credit of the United States, nor appropriate money, nor agree upon 
the number of vessels of war to be built or purchased, or the number of 
land or sea forces to be raised, nor appoint a commander-in-chief of the 
army or navy, unless nine States assent to the same, nor shall a question 
on any other point, except for adjourning from day to day, be determined, 
unless by the votes of a majority of the United States, in Congress assem- 
bled. 

The Congress of the United States shall have power to adjourn to any 
time within the year, and to any place within the United States, so that 
no period of adjournment be for a longer duration than the space of six 
months, and shall publish the journal of their proceedings monthly, ex- 
cept such parts thereof relating to treaties, alliances, or military opera- 
tions as in their judgment require secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the 
delegates of each State, on any question, shall be entered on the journal 
when it is desired by any delegate ; and the delegates of a State, or any of 



398 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION 



them, at his or their request, shall be furnished with a transcript of the 
said journal, except such parts as are above excepted, to lay before the 
legislatures of the several States. 

Art. X. — The committee of the States, or any nine of them, shall be 
authorized to execute, in the recess of Congress, such of the powers of 
Congress as the United States, in Congress assembled, by the consent of 
nine States, shall, from time to time, think expedient to vest them with ; 
provided that no power be delegated to the said committee, for the exer- 
cise of which, by the articles of confederation, the voice of nine States, 
in the Congress of the United States assembled, is requisite. 

Art. XI. — Canada acceding to this confederation, and joining in the 
measures of the United States, shall be admitted into, and entitled to all 
the advantages of this Union ; but no other colony shall be admitted into 
the same unless such admission be agreed to by nine States. 

Art. XII. — All bills of credit emitted, moneys borrowed, and debts 
contracted by or under the authority of Congress, before the assembling 
of the United States, in pursuance of the present confederation, shall be 
deemed and considered as a charge against the United States, for pay- 
ment and satisfaction whereof the said United States and the public faith 
are hereby solemnly pledged. 

Art. XIII. — Every State shall abide by the determinations of the United 
States, in Congress assembled, on all questions which by this Confedera- 
tion are submitted to them. And the Articles of this Confederation shall 
be inviolably observed by every State, and the Union shall be perpetual ; 
nor shall any alteration at any time hereafter be made in any of them, 
unless such alteration be agreed to in a Congress of the United States, 
and be afterward confirmed by the legislatures of every State. 

And whereas it hath pleased the great Governor of the world to incline 
the hearts of the legislatures we respectively represent in Congress, to 
approve of, and to authorize us to ratify the said Articles of Confedera- 
tion and perpetual Union, Know ye, that we, the undersigned delegates, 
by virtue of the power and authority to us given for that purpose, do, by 
these presents, in the name and in behalf of our respective constituents, 
fully and entirely ratify and confirm each and every of the said Articles of 
Confederation and perpetual Union, and all and singular the matters and 
things therein contained. And we do further solemnly plight and engage 
the faith of our respective constituents, that they shall abide by the deter- 
minations of the United States, in Congress assembled, on all questions 
which by the said Confederation are submitted to them ; and that the 
Articles thereof shall be inviolably observed by the States we respectively 
represent, and that the Union shall be perpetual. In witness whereof, we 
have hereunto set our hands in Congress. Done at Philadelphia, in the 
State of Pennsylvania, the ninth day of July, in the year of our Lord 
1778,* and in the third year of the Independence of America. 

* Only ten States took action upon the Articles at this time. New Jersey, Delaware, 
and Maryland did not ratify them until later. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES — 1787 1 



We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect 
union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for^the com- 
mon defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of 
liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Con- 
stitution for the United States of America. 

ARTICLE I 

Section 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in 
a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and 
House of Representatives. 

Section 2. 1 The House of Representatives shall be composed of 
members chosen every second year by the people of the several States, 
and the electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for 
electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature. 

2 No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to 
the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United 
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in 
which he shall be chosen. 

3 Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the 
several States which may be included within this Union, according to 
their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the 
whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term 
of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other per- 
sons. 2 The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after 
the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every 
subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. 
The number of representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty 
thousand, but each State shall have at least one representative ; and until 
such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be 
entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Provi- 
dence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, 
Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North 
Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three. 

4 When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, the 
executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such 
vacancies. 

5 The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and other 
officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

Section 3. 1 The Senate of the United States shall be composed of 
two senators from each State, chosen by the legislature thereof for six 
years ; and each senator shall have one vote. 3 

1 This reprint of the Constitution exactly follows the text of that in the 
Department of State at Washington, save in the spelling of a few words. 

2 The last half of this sentence was superseded by the 13th and 14th Amend- 
ments. 

3 This paragraph was superseded by the 17th Amendment. 

399 



400 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

2 Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the 
first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three 
classes. The seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at 
the expiration of the second year, of the second class at the expiration of 
the fourth year, and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, 
so that one third may be chosen every second year ; and if vacancies 
happen by resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the legislature 
of any State, the executive thereof may make temporary appointments 
until the next meeting of the legislature, which shall then fill such 
vacancies. 1 

3 No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age 
of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and 
who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he 
shall be chosen. 

4 The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the 
Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

5 The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a president pro 
tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise 
the office of President of the United States. 

6 The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. 
When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. 
When the President of the United States is tried, the chief justice shall 
preside : and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two 
thirds of the members present. 

7 Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to 
removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of 
honor, trust or profit under the United States : but the party convicted 
shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and 
punishment, according to law. 

Section 4. 1 The times, places, and manner of holding elections for 
senators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the 
legislature thereof ; but the Congress may at any time by law make or 
alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing senators. 

2 The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such 
meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by 
law appoint a different day. 

Section 5. 1 Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns and 
qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute 
a quorum to do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to 
day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, 
in such manner, and under such penalties as each House may provide. 

2 Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its 
members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two thirds, 
expel a member. 

3 Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time 
to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment 
require secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the members of either House 
on any question shall, at the desire of one fifth of those present, be 
entered on the journal. 

4 Neither House, during the session of Congress, shall, without the 
consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other 
place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. 

1 The last half of this sentence was superseded by the 17th Amendment. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 401 

Section 8. 1 The senators and representatives shall receive a com- 
pensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the 
Treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason, 
felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their 
attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and in going to and 
returning from the same ; and for any speech or debate in either House, 
they shall not be questioned in any other place. 

2 No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he 
was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the 
United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof 
shall have been increased during such time ; and no person holding any 
office under the United States shall be a member of either House during 
his continuance in office. 

Section 7. 1 All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the 
House of Representatives ; but the Senate may propose or concur with 
amendments as on other bills. 

2 Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and 
the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President 
of the United States ; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall 
return it, with his objections to that House in which it shall have origi- 
nated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed 
to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two thirds of that House 
shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, 
to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if 
approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a law. But in all 
such cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, 
and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be en- 
tered on the journal of each House respectively. If any bill shall not be 
returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it 
shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner 
as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent 
its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 

3 Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the 
Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a ques- 
tion of adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United 
States ; and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, 
or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate 
and House of Representatives, according to the rules and limitations pre- 
scribed in the case of a bill. 

Section 8. 1 The Congress shall have power to lay and collect 
taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the 
common defense and general welfare of the United States ; but all duties, 
imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States ; 

2 To borrow money on the credit of the United States ; 

3 To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several 
States, and with the Indian tribes ; 

4 To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on 
the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States ; 

5 To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and 
fix the standard of weights and measures ; 

6 To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and 
current coin of the United States ; 

7 To establish post offices and post roads ; 



402 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

8 To promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for 
limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respec- 
tive writings and discoveries ; 

9 To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court ; 

10 To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high 
seas, and offenses against the law of nations ; 

11 To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make 
rules concerning captures on land and water ; 

12 To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that 
use shall be for a longer term than two years ; 

13 To provide and maintain a navy ; 

14 To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and 
naval forces ; 

15 To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the 
Union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions ; 

16 To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and 
for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the 
United States, reserving to the States respectively the appointment of the 
officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the disci- 
pline prescribed by Congress ; 

17 To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such 
district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular 
States and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government 
of the United States, 1 and to exercise like authority over all places pur- 
chased by the consent of the legislature of the State in which the same 
shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and 
other needful buildings ; and 

18 To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying 
into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this 
Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department 
or officer thereof. 

Section 9. 1 The migration or importation of such persons as any 
of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be pro- 
hibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and 
eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceed- 
ing ten dollars for each person. 2 

2 The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, 
unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may re- 
quire it. 

3 No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 

4 No capitation, or other direct, tax shall be laid, unless in proportion 
to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken. 

5 No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. 

6 No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or reve- 
nue to the ports of one State over those of another : nor shall vessels 
bound to, or from, one State be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in 
another. 

7 No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of 
appropriations made by law ; and a regular statement and account of the 

1 The District of Columbia, which comes under these regulations, had not 
then been erected. 

2 A temporary clause, no longer in force. See also Article V. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 403 

receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time 
to time. 

8 No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States : and no 
person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the 
consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, 
of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign State. 

Section 10. * 1 No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or con- 
federation ; grant letters of marque and reprisal ; coin money ; emit bills 
of credit ; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of 
debts ; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the 
obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility. 

2 No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts 
or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary 
for executing its inspection laws : and the net produce of all duties and 
imposts laid by any State on imports or exports, shall be for the use of 
the treasury of the United States ; and all such laws shall be subject to 
the revision and control of the Congress. 

3 No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of 
tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any 
agreement or compact with another State, or with a foreign power, or 
engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as 
will not admit of delay. 

ARTICLE II 

Section 1. 1 The executive power shall be vested in a President of 
the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of 
four years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same 
term, be elected, as follows 

2 Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof 
may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators 
and representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress : 
but no senator or representative, or person holding an office of trust or 
profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector. 

The electors 'shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot 
for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the 
same State with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the per- 
sons voted for, and of the number of votes for each ; which list they shall 
sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the 
United States, directed to the president of the Senate. The president of the 
Senate, shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, 
open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person 
having the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such number 
be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; and if there be 
more than one who have such majority, and have an equal number of 
votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose by 
ballot one of them for President ; and if no person have a majority, then 
from the five highest on the list the said house shall in like manner choose 
the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken 
by States, the representation from each State having one vote ; a quorum 
for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of 
the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. 

1 See also the 10th, 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. 



404 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

In every case, after the choice of the President, the person having the 
greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice President. But 
if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate 
shall choose from them by ballot the Vice President. 1 

8 The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and 
the day on which they shall give their votes ; which day shall be the same 
throughout the United States. 

4 No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United 
States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to 
the office of President ; neither shall any person be eligible to that office 
who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been four- 
teen years a resident within the United States. 

5 In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, 
resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said 
office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress 
may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or ina- 
bility, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what officer 
shall then act as President, and such officer shall act accordingly, until 
the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected. 

6 The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a com- 
pensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the 
period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive 
within that period any other emolument from the United States, or any 
of them. 

7 Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the fol- 
lowing oath or affirmation: — "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I 
will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and 
will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitu- 
tion of the United States." 

Section 2. 1 The President shall be commander in chief of the 
army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several 
States, when called into the actual service of the United States ; he may 
require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the 
executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their 
respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons 
for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

2 He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the senators present con- 
cur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of 
the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, 
judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, 
whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which 
shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the 
appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the Presi- 
dent alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 

3. The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may 
happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which 
shall expire at the end of 'their next session. 

Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress infor- 
mation of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration 
such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient ; he may, on 

1 This paragraph superseded by the 12th Amendment. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 405 

extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in 
case of disagreement between them with respect to the time of adjourn- 
ment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper ; he 
shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers ; he shall take care 
that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers 
of the United States. 

Section 4. The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the 
United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and con- 
viction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE III 

Section 1. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested 
in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may 
from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme 
and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and 
shall, at stated times, receive for their services, a compensation which 
shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. 

Section 2. 1 The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and 
equity, arising uuder this Constitution, the laws of the United States, 
and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority; — to 
all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls ; — 
to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction ; — to controversies to 
which the United States shall be a party ; — to controversies between two 
or more States ; — between a State and citizens of another State ; * — be- 
tween citizens of different, States, — between citizens of the same State 
claiming lands under grants of different States, and between a State, or 
the citizens thereof, and foreign States, citizens or subjects. 

2 In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and con- 
suls, and those in which a State shall be party, the Supreme Court shall 
have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the 
Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, 
with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall 
make. 

3 The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by 
jury ; and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall 
have been committed ; but when not committed within any State, the 
trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have 
directed. 

Section 3. 1 Treason against the United States, shall consist only in 
levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them 
aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the 
testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in 
open court. 

2 The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, 
but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture 
except during the life of the person attainted. 

ARTICLE IV 

Section 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the 
public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And 

1 See the 11th Amendment. 



406 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such 
acts, records and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. 

Section 2. 1 The citizens of each State shall be entitled to -all privi- 
leges and immunities of citizens in the several States. 

2 A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, 
who shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall on de- 
mand of the executive authority of the State from which he fled, be 
delivered up to be removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime. 

3 No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws 
thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regu- 
lation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be 
delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may 
be due. 1 

Section 3. 1 New States may be admitted by the Congress into this 
Union ; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdic- 
tion of any other State ; nor any State be formed by the junction of two 
or more States, or parts of States, without the consent of the legislatures 
of the States concerned as well as of the Congress. 

2 The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful 
rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging 
to the United States ; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so con- 
strued as to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular 
State. 

Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this 
Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them 
against invasion ; and on application of the legislature, or of the execu- 
tive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence. 

ARTICLE V 

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it 
necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the 
application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall 
call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall 
be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when 
ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by 
conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of 
ratification may be proposed by the Congress ; Provided that no amend- 
ment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred 
and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the 
ninth section of the first article ; and that no State, without its consent, 
shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. 

ARTICLE VI 

1 All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the 
adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States 
under this Constitution, as under the Confederation. 

2 This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be 
made in pursuance thereof ; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, 
under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the 
land ; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in 
the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. 

1 See the 13th Amendment. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 



407 



3 The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the mem- 
bers of the several State legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, 
both of the United States, and of the several States, shall be bound by- 
oath or affirmation to support this Constitution ; but no religious test 
shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under 
the United States. 

AKTICLE VII 

The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufficient for 
the establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the 
same. 

Done in Convention by the unanimous consent of the States present the 
seventeenth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand 
seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the independence of the United 
States of America the twelfth. In witness whereof we have hereunto 
subscribed our names, 

Go: Washington — 

Presidt. and Deputy from Virginia 



Neic Hampshire 

John Langdon 
Nicholas Gilman 



Massachusetts 

Nathaniel Gorhani 
Eufus King 

Connecticut 

Wm. Saual. Johnson 
Eoger Sherman 

Neic York 
Alexander Hamilton 



Nexo Jersey 

Wil : Livingston 
David Brearley 
Wm. Paterson 
Jona : Dayton 



Pennsylvania 

B. Franklin 
Thomas Mifflin 
Eobt. Morris 
Geo. Clymer 
Thos. Fitzsimons 
Jared Ingersoll 
James Wilson 
Gouv Morris 



Delaware 

Geo : Eead 
Gunning Bedford Jun 
John Dickinson 
Eichard Bassett 
Jaco : Broom 



Maryland 



James McHenrv 

Dan of St. Thos Jenifer 

Danl. Carroll 



Virginia 

John Blair — 
James Madison Jr. 



North Carolina 

Wm. Blount 

Eichd. Dobbs Spaight 

Hu Williamson 



South Carolina 

J. Eutledge 

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney 

Charles Pinckney 

Pierce Butler 



Georgia 

William Few 
Abr Baldwin 



Attest William Jacksox Secretary. 



Articles in addition to, and amendment of, the Constitution of the United 
States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the legisla- 
tures of the several States pursuant to the fifth article of the original 
Constitution. 

ARTICLES I-Xi 



Article I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment 
of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ; or abridging the free- 
dom of speech, or of the press ; or the right of the people peaceably to as- 
semble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. 

1 The first ten Amendments were adopted in 1791. 



408 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

Article II. A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security 
of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be 
infringed. 

Article III. No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any 
house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a 
manner to be prescribed by law. 

Article IV. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, 
houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, 
shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable 
cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the 
place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. 

Article V. No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or other- 
wise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand 
jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, 
when in actual service in time of war or public danger ; nor shall any 
person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life 
or limb ; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness 
against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due 
process of law ; nor shall private property be taken for public use without 
just compensation. 

Article VI. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy 
the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the 
State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which 
district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed 
of the nature and cause of the accusation ; to be confronted with the wit- 
nesses against him ; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses 
in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. 

Article VII. In suits at common law, where the value in controversy 
shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, 
and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of 
the United States, than according to the rules of the common law. 

Article VIII. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive 
fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

Article IX. The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights 
shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

Article X. The powers not delegated to the United States by the 
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the 
States respectively, or to the people. 

ARTICLE XIi 

The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend 
to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the 
United States, by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of 
any foreign State. 

ARTICLE XII' 2 

The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot 
for President and Vice President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an 
inhabitant of the same Stlate with themselves ; they shall name in their 
ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person 

i Adopted in 1798. 2 Adopted in 1804. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 409 

voted for as Vice President, and they shall make distinct lists of all per- 
sons voted for as President and of all persons voted for as Vice President, 
and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and 
certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United 
States, directed to the pi*esident of the Senate; — The president of the 
Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, 
open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted ; — The person 
having the greatest number of votes for President shall be the President, 
if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; 
and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the 
highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as 
President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by 
ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be 
taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote ; a 
quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two 
thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary 
to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a 
President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon' them, before 
the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice President shall act 
as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability 
of the President. The person having the greatest number of votes as 
Vice President shall be the Vice President, if such number be a majority 
of the whole number of electors appointed, and if no person have a 
majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall 
choose the Vice President ; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two 
thirds of the whole number of senators, and a majority of the whole 
number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally 
ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice Presi- 
dent of the United States. 

ARTICLE XIII 1 

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a pun- 
ishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall 
exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. 

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by ap- 
propriate legislation. 

ARTICLE XIV 2 

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and 
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of 
the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law 
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United 
States ; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, 
without due process of law ; nor deny to any person within its jurisdic- 
tion the equal protection of the laws. 

Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several 
States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number 
of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right 
to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice 

1 Adopted in 1865. 2 Adopted in 1868. 



410 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

President of the United States, representatives in Congress, the executive 
and judicial officers of a State, or the members of the legislature thereof, 
is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one 
years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, 
except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representa- 
tion therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such 
male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one 
years of age in such State. 

Section 3. No person shall be a senator or representative in Congress, 
or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or mili- 
tary, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously 
taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United 
States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judi- 
cial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, 
shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given 
aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of 
two thirds of each House, remove such disability. 

Section 4. ■ The validity of the public debt of the United States, author- 
ized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties 
for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. 
But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt 
or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the 
United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave ; 
but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void. 

Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate 
legislation, the provisions of this article. 

ARTICLE XV 1 

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall 
not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account 
of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation. 

ARTICLE XVI 2 

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from 
whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, 
and without regard to any census or enumeration. 

ARTICLE XVII 3 

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators from 
each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years ; and each senator 
shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications 
requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures. 

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, 
the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such 
vacancies : Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the 
executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill 
the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct. 

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term 
of any senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution. 

1 Adopted in 1870. 2 Adopted in 1913. 3 Adopted in 1913. 



INDEX 



Adams, Samuel, as "Vindex," 19. 
Adjournment of Congress, 80. 
Ad valorem duties, 125. 
Agriculture, Department of, 193-194. 
Alaska, government of, 245. 

territorial court of, 213. 
Albany congress, the, 16. 
Albany, plan of union, 16-17. 
Alexandria convention, 35. 
Alien, denned, 100. 
Aliens, steps necessary to obtain citizenship, 

101-104. 
Ambassadors of American government, 184, 

271. 
Amendments of national Constitution, first, 
258. 

second, 259. 

third, 260. 

fourth, 260. 

fifth, 222-224, 260-261. 

sixth, 224-225, 261. 

seventh, 225, 261. 

eighth, 225-226, 261. 

ninth, 261. 

tenth, 262. 

eleventh, 262. 

twelfth, 170-171, 262. 

thirteenth, 262-263. 

fourteenth, 263-265. 

fifteenth, 265. 

sixteenth, 266. 

seventeenth, 266-267. 

methods of ratifying, 257-258. 

necessity for, 256-257. 

proposals of, 257. 
Annapolis convention, 35-36. 
Annexation, citizenship through, 103. 
Apportionment of federal representatives, 61. 
Arbitration, international, 274. 

treaties, 275. 
Armies, raising and supporting, 114-115, 116. 
Army, President commander in chief of, 180. 

power of Congress over, 114. 
Articles of Confederation, 393. 

adoption of, 29-30. 

attempts to amend, 34-35. 

debts under, validity of, 251. 

defects of, 31-32. 

lands under, 238-240. 

limitations on states under, 301 . 

plan of government under, 30-31. 

proposed, 28-29. 

weakness of, in raising taxes, 123-124. 
Attainder, bill of, 158-159. 
Attorney General of United States, 193. 

Bail, excessive, 225. 

Bank deposits, guaranty of, 332. 



Bankruptcy, moral obligations in, 105. 

voluntary and involuntary, 104, 105. 
Banks, national, 148, 150-153. 

guaranty of deposits in, 332. 

postal savings, 149-150. 

savings, 149. 

state, 147-148. 
Bill of attainder, 158. 

Bill of Rights, in national Constitution, 258. 
Bills, in Congress, 91, 93-95. 
Bimetallism, 143-144. 
Bland- Allison Act, the, 141. 
Board of trade, plan of union of, 16, 
Bonds, United States, 139. 
Borrowing power, the, 138. 
Budget, a federal, 161. 

Cabinet, appointment of members, 182-1S3. 

composition of, 182-183. 

responsibility of, 183. 

salary of members of, 182. 
Campaign funds, publicity of, 382-383. 
Canal, grants of land to, 241. 
Canal Zone, federal court in, 214. 

government of, 248. 
Capitation tax. See Taxation. 
Cases, in court, defined, 216. 
Charges d'affaires, 185, 271. 
Charity, in cities, 359-360. 

in counties, 297-298. 
Charters, city, 337. 
China, U. S. court in, 215. 
Chinese, ineligible as citizens, 102. 
Chisholm vs. Georgia, 217. 
Circuit court, federal, 51-52 ; 212 n. 
Circuit court of appeals, jurisdiction of, 218- 
219. 

organization of, 209-210. 
Cities, administrative departments in, 341— 
343- 

bath houses and rest rooms in, 353. 

charity in, 359~36o. 

charters of, 3 3 7-3 39- 

civil service in, 343~344- 

councils of, 339-341. 

courts in, 343. 

food in, 352. 

health in, 351-352. 

housing in, 352. 

immigration to,_ 357-358. 

juvenile courts in, 358-359. 

markets in, 361-362. 

mayors of, 341. 

parks and playgrounds in, 353. 

preventing disease in, 353. 

vital statistics in, 354. 
Citizenship, defined, 100, 263. 

duties of, 388-390. 



411 



412 



INDEX 



Citizenship, granted negroes, 264. 

of a state, 319. 

protection under, 103. < 

steps necessary to obtain, 1 01-104. 
City councils, 339~340. 

procedure and powers of, 340-342. 
City problems, 357-362. 
Civil service, appointments under, 197. 

commission for, 195. 

consular service under, 186. 

examinations under, 196. 

in cities, 343~344- 

results of reforms, 197-198. 
Claims, court of, 210. 
Coinage, power of Congress over, 105-106. 

subsidiary silver, 143. 
Colonial charters, grants of, 236-237. 

land disputes under, 237-240. 
Colonial committees of correspondence, 20. 
Colonial government, assemblies under, 9-10. 

corporation and provincial, 7-8. 

councils under, 8-9. 

courts under, io-n. 

local government, 11. 

plan off 7. 

suffrage under, 9-10. 
Colonies, the, government of, 7. 
Commerce, Board of Mediation and Concilia- 
tion, 133-134. 

foreign, regulation of by Congress, 99-100 ; 
130-131. 

interstate, 131-132. 

Interstate Commerce Commission, 132-133. 

regulation of railroad traffic, 132-133. 

trust regulation, 134-135. 
Commerce court, 208 n. 
Commerce, Department of, 194. 
Commission, Interstate Commerce, 132-133. 
Commission system of city government, 344- 

349-. 
Commissioner of public lands, 192. 
Committees in Congress, 93-95. 

in sixty-second Congress, 95. 

See diagram, 95. 
Committees of correspondence, 20. 
Compromise plan, the, 40. 
Comptroller of the currency, 148, 187. 
Confederate debts nullified, 265. 
Confederation, Articles of, 28. 
Congress, adjournment of, 80-81. 

appropriations of, 1 60-1 61. 

bills in, 91, 93-95- . 

concurrent resolutions or orders in, 90-91. 

control of money and banks, 137. 

extra sessions of, 58. 

First Continental (1774), 20-21. 

implied powers of, 120. 

journal of, 80. 

limitations on, 156-162. 

power of, to borrow money, 138-139. 

power over members, 78, 79, 81. 

power to regulate value of money, 139-140. 

privileges of members, 81. 

proceedings of, under Articles, 29-31, 50. 

quorum in, 78. 

rules of, 79. 

Second Continental (1775), 21-22, 45. 

sessions of, 58-59, 78. 

Stamp Act (1765), 18. 



Congress, the Albany (1754), 18. 
Congressional district, the, 63. 
Connecticut, union of, 13. 
Conservation of resources, forests and minerals, 
329-330. 

irrigation, 329. 

the soil, 328-329. 
Constitution, federal, with Congress, 43. 

great compromises in, 40-41. 

main objections to, 47-48. 

origin and nature of, 43-46. 

ratification of, 46-47, 254. 

the supreme law, 252. 
Constitutional Convention, compromise plan, 
40. 

New Jersey plan in, 39-40. 

Pinckney plan in, 40. 

problems of, 38-39. 

report of, 42-43. 

Virginia plan, 39. 
Consuls, duties of, 185-186. 

kinds of, 185, 272. 
Continental Congress, First, 20-21. 

Second, 21-22, 45. 
Convention, national political, 377-380. 

nomination of candidates, 380. 

organization of, 376-377. 
Conventions, state, 380. 
Copyright, no-iii. 
Corporation tax, the, 127. 
Corrupt practices acts, 382-383. 
Council, the, 8. 
Counterfeiting, 107-108. 
County, as unit for state government, 296. 

courts in, 293-294. 

government of, in Virginia, 290-292. 

in early New England, 288. 

in New England to-day, 289. 

in the South, 289-290. 

mixed system of county-township govern- 
ment, 293. 

origin of, in New England, 287-288. 

poor and criminals in, 297-298. 

problems of, 296. 

spread of the Virginia, 292. 

state supervision over officials of, 298-300. 
Court of claims, federal jurisdiction of, 219. 

organization of, 210. 

procedure in, 210-21 1. 
Court of domestic relations, in Chicago, 322. 
Court, Supreme in states, 313-314. 
Courts, federal, appointment and tenure of 
judges of, 215-216. 

cases in law and equity in, 216-217. 

defects of, 220-221. 

enumerated, 207-208. 

jurisdiction of, 218. 

minor courts, 212-214. 

of special jurisdiction, 210-2 n. 

organization of, 208-214. 

salary of judges of, 208, 212, 215. 
Courts, state, 293-296. 

dangers to, 315-316. 

in cities, 343. 

increased importance of, 315. 

other courts of state, 314. 

relation of, to federal judiciary, 314-315 

selection and term of judges for, 313. 
Crime and penal institutions, 324-326. 



INDEX 



413 



Cuba, relation to United States, 249. 
Currency. See Monetary system. 
Customs Appeals, Court of, 211. 

jurisdiction of, 219-220. 

organization of, 211. 
Customs duties, ad valorem defined, 125-126. 

collection of, 125-126. 

specific, defined, 125-126. 

Debt, national, 125. 
Declaration of Independence, 22-23. 
Delegates, territorial, 63. 
Democratic party, 373~374- 
Department of Agriculture, 193. 
Department of Commerce, 194. 
Department of Justice, 193. 
Department of Labor, 194. 
Department of State, the, 183. 
Department of the Interior, the, 192. 
Department of the Navy, 190. 
Department of the Treasury, 186. 
Department of War, 188. 
Dependencies, 247. 

Des Moines, plan of city government in, 345- 
346. 

merits of, 347-348. 

objections to, 348-349. 

operations of plan, 346-347. 
Dickinson, John, 23, 28, 37. 
Diplomatic services, 184-186. 
Direct tax. See Taxation. 
District, the congressional, 63. 
District court, federal, in Alaska, 213. 

in Canal Zone, 214-215. 

in Hawaii, 213. 

in Porto Rico, 214. 

jurisdiction of, 218. 

organization of, 51-52, 208-209. 
District of Columbia, federal territory, 118. 

courts of, 212-213. 

government of, 118-119. 

suffrage and taxation in, 119. 
Divorce problem, in states, 322. 
Domestic parcel post. See Post Office. 

Education, a function of government, 364. 

a problem of state and nation, 364-370. 

aided by Ordinance of 1787, 240. 

commissioner of, 193. 

in cities, 360-361. 

in counties, 289-292. 

in townships, 284-286. 
Elastic clause of the Constitution, 121. 
Election, of national representatives, 59. 

of senators. See Senate. 
Electoral college, 168-169. 

choosing electors, 169-170. 

counting electoral vote, 173-174. 
Electoral High Commission, 173-174. 
Electors, presidential, first, 50-51. 
Enacting clause of Constitution, 53. 
England's colonies, 6. 
Entry and clearing of vessels, 160. 
Envoys extraordinary, 184, 271. 
Excessive bail, 225.* 

Executive. See President, Governor, Mayor. 
Executive departments, heads of, 181-182. 
Executive, under the Articles, 30-31. 
Exit of France from America, the, 17. 



Explorations and settlements, in America, 5. 

by England, 6-7. 

by France, 6. 

by Spain, 5-6. 
Ex post facto law, 159. 

Federal courts. See Courts. 
Federal Reserve Banking Act, 150-153. 
Federal territory, 118. 
Fifteenth Amendment, 265. 
Filibustering, 95-96. 

Finance. See Taxation , also Monetary system. 
First Continental Congress, the, 20. 
France, exit of, from America, 17. 
Franklin, Benjamin, 16, 17. 
Fugitive criminals, 231-232. 
return of, by states, 232-233. 

Galveston, plan of city government in, 345. 
Gerrymander, 64. 

Gifts, not to be accepted by federal officers, 162. 
Government, forms of, 3. 

of the colonies, 7. 

purpose and definition of, 20. 
Governor, election of, 308-309. 

powers of, 308-310. 

salary of, 309. 

term of, 309. 
Grand jury, 222-223. 

indictment by, 222. 
Greenbacks, 139, 141-142, 144-145. 
Gresham's Law, 140. 
Guam, government of, 248. 

Habeas corpus, writ of, 157. 

who may suspend, 158. 
Hague Tribunal, 274. 
Hamilton, Alexander, 40. 

defends Constitution, 47. 
Hepburn Act, 132-133. 
Homestead Act, 240. 

House of Representatives, national, appor- 
tionment, 61-62. 

election of members to, 59-60, 70. 

officers of, 64-67. 

organization of, 68-69. 

revenue bills originate in, 89. 

territorial delegates in, 63. 
House of Representatives, state. See Legis- 
lature. 
Hundred, the, 279. 

Immigration, federal law on, 357. 

in cities, 357~3S8. 

problem for schools, 358. 
Impeachment, federal, 67, 202-204. 

procedure in, 203. 

trial by, and penalty, 76-77- 
Implied powers of Congress, 1 20. 
Income tax, 129-130. 
Independence, Declaration of, 22 
Indian affairs, 192. 
Indictment by grand jury, 222. 
Initiative, the, 326-328. 

good of, debatable, 327. 
- spread of, 327- 

Insular colonial territories, 245-246. 
Insular possessions, U. S., 247-248. 



414 



INDEX 



Interior, Department of, 192. 

International law, origin and nature of, 268- 

269. 
International Postal Union, 109. 
Interstate commerce, 131-132. 
Interstate Commerce Commission, 132-133, 

194. 

Jefferson, Thomas, 23. 
Johnson, Andrew, impeachment of, 204. 
Judges, of federal courts, 208 ff. 
Judiciary, federal, defects of, 220-221. 

dignity of, 206-207. 

necessity for, 207. 

under the Articles, 31. 

under the Constitution, 206-228. 

See also Courts. 
Jurisdiction. See Courts. 
Jury system, 294-295. 

objections to, 295-296. 
Justice, Department of, 193. 
Juvenile courts, in cities, 358-359. 

Labor and capital, 323-324. 

legislation for, 323. 
Labor, Department of, 194. 
Labor unions, 323. 

in cities, 358. 
Law, Gresham's, 140. 
Laws, making of, 85-89. 
League of New England colonies, the, 14. 
Legation, secretary of, 185. 
Legislature, state, composition of, 305. 

districting a state for, 306. 

governor's veto on acts of, 308. 

organization and powers of, 307. 

restrictions on, 307-308. 

sessions of, 306-307. 
Legislature, United States. See Congress. 
Letters of marque and reprisal, 113-114. 
Lieutenant governor, 310. 
Lincoln, Abraham, suspension of habeas 

corpus by, 158. 
Lobbyists in state legislatures, 307. 
Logrolling, securing legislation by, 96-97. 

Mace, the, 67. 

Madison, James, Notes of, 37. 

Markets, city, 361-362. 

Marque and reprisal, letters of, 11 3-1 14. 

Mayor, the, 341. 

powers of, 341-342. 
Message, the President's, 201. 
Military Academy, the, 189-190. 
Militia, authority over, 117-118, 259. 

calling out, 116-117, 318-319. 
Ministers of United States, 185, 271. 
Minor executive departments, 194. 
Minority Presidents, 174-175. 
Mint, Director of, 106. 
Mints, United States, 106. 
Monetary Commission, National, 150. 
Monetary system, before the- Constitution, 
I37-I54- 

paper currency, 144-147, 152. 

ratio of gold and silver. 140-141, 144. 

status of gold and silver, 144. 

subsidiary silver, 143. 



Money legislation since 1893, 142-143, 150- 

154- 
Morris, Gouverneur, 37, 14. 
Municipal government, 335-349. See Cities. 
Municipal ownership of public utilities, 354- 

357- 

National banks, 148. 

National government, departments of, 57-58. 

given power to levy taxes, 124. 

relation to states, 45-47- 
National Guard, the, 318-319. 
National Monetary Commission, 150. 
National representatives, apportionment of, 
61. 

election of, 59. 

qualification of, 60. 
National Senate. See Senate. 
Nations, intercourse between, 270-271. 

jurisdiction of, 270. 

making, 269-270. 

officials exchanged between, 271-272. 
Naturalization, 100-104. 
Naval Academy, 190-191. 
Navy, Department of, 190-192. 
Navy, the, 11 5-1 16. 

providing and maintaining, n 5-1 16. 
New England colonies, league of, 14. 
New England league, the, 14-15. 
New England town, the, 281. 
New Jersey plan, 39. 
Nobility, titles of, 161-162. 
Northern Securities case, 134-135. 
Northwest Territory, the, 240. 

Oath of federal and state officers, 252-253. 

penalty for violation of, 264. 
Officers of the House. See House of Repre- 
sentatives, National. 
Ordinance of 1787, 240. 
Oregon, plan to choose U. S. senators, 70-71, 

initiative and referendum in, 326-327. 
Origin of government and the state, 1-3. 

Panama Canal Zone, 214, 248. 
Paper currency, 144-145. 

kinds of to-day, 145-147. 
Parcel post, domestic. See Post Office. 
Paris, Congress at, 1856, 273. 
Parish, the, 280-281. 
Parties. See Political parties. 
Patent Office, 192. 
Patent rights, 111-112. 
Pendleton Act, the, 195. 
Penn, William, plan of union of, 15. 
Pensions, Bureau of, 192. 
Petit jury, 223. 
Philippine Islands, courts of, 214. 

government of, 246-247. 
Piracy and felony on seas, 112. 
Plan of colonial government, 8. 
Political parties, advantages and disadvan- 
tages of, 372-373- 

assist in shaping legislation, 97-98. 

campaign funds of, 382-383. 

direct primaries of, 378-379. 

government by, inadequate, 383. 

machinery of, at work, 381-382. 



INDEX 



415 



Political parties, national party, machinery 
of, 379-381. 

nominating conventions of, 175-176, 380- 
381. 

of the past, 373~374- 

of to-day, 374~376. 

organization of, 376-378. 

popularizing the, 378. 
Political problems of to-day, 383-385 • 
Postal savings banks, 149. 
Postal service, the, 108. 
Postmaster General, the, 191. 
Post office, the, classes of, 108. 

classification of mail, 191-192. 

money order service, 109. 

parcel post, 109-110. 

rural delivery, cost of, 108. 
Post Office Department, 191-192. 
Post offices, number of, 108. 
Postal savings banks, 149-150. 
Poverty, in cities, 359-360. 
Preemption laws, 240. 
President, creation of office of, 167-168. 

counting disputed electoral vote, 174. 

date of election, 174-175. 

electors of, 168-169. 

impeachment of, 67, 202-204. 

inauguration of, 180. 

military power of, 181. 

nominating, 175-176. 

old and new method of election of, 169- 
172. 

pardoning powers of, 181. 

powers and duties of, 198-202. 

qualifications of, 177-178. 

salary of, 179. 

succession in office of, 178-179. 

term of office of, 168. 

vacancy in office of, 178. 
President's message, the, 201. 
Presidents, minority, 174-175. 
Primaries, direct. See Political parties. 
Progressive party, rise of, 376. 
Prohibition party, 375. 
Public lands, commissioner of, 192. 

grants to railroads and canals, 241. 

reservations of, 241-242. 

sales of, 240-241. 

surveys of, 239. 

under the Articles, 238-240. 
Public Printing Office, 195. 

Qualification, of representatives, 60. 
of senators, 74. 

Railroads, grants of land to, 241. 

regulation of, 132-134. 
Ratification of the Constitution, 46. 
Ratio of representation, 62. 
Recall, the, 328. 
Referendum, the, 326—328. 
Removal from office, 200. 
Representation, ratio of, 62. 
Representatives, House of. See House of 

Representatives. 
Republican party, the, 373-374. 
Revenue, federal, sources of, 125. 
Roads, good, value of, 332-333. 
Roosevelt, Theodore, 376. 



Samoa, government of, 248. 
Savings banks, 149. 

postal, 149- 
Schools, cabinet officer needed to direct, 370. 

colleges and universities, 366-367. 

common, 364-365. 

efficiency needed, 369-370. 

high, 365-366. 

supervision of, 367-368. 

support of public, 368-369. 
Second Continental Congress, 21. 
Senate, national, amendment changing man- 
ner of election, 266-267. 

classification of senators, 73. 

election formerly and now, 60-72. 

officers of, 75-76. 

share in treaty making, 199. 

vacancies in, 74. 
Senators, qualifications of, 74. 
Sherman Anti-Trust Act, 134-135. 
Sherman Silver Act, 141-142. 
Slave trade, the, 156-157. 
Slavery prohibited, 157, 263. 
Socialist Labor party, 375. 
Socialist party, 375. 
Speaker, the English, 65. 

of House of Representatives, duties and 
powers of, 65, 97-98. 
Stamp Act congress, the, 18. 
Standard Oil case, 134-135. 
State banks, 147. 
State, defined, 2-3. 

forms of, 2-3. 

nature and definition of, 3. 
State, Department of, organization and func- 
tions of, 183-184. 
State exports, no duty on, 160. 
States, adoption of constitutions in, 304-305. 

boards in, 311-312. 

changed from colonies, 26-27. 

constitutions in, periods of, 303-301. 

control of corporations and trusts in, 330- 
332. 

control of nomination and elections in, 319- 
320. 

courts, selection and terms of judges, 313. 

federal limitations on, 162-165. 

influence of officers of, 312. 

nullification tried in, 302-313. 

obligations and duties of, 230-235, 262. 

officers of, 309-311. 

powers of, under the Confederation, 301. 

powers of, under the Constitution, 301—303. 
. prohibitions on, 203. 

relation among officers of, 311. 

relation to Union of, 27-28, 45-47, 235, 252, 
302-303. 

rights of, 262. 
Subsidiary' silver coinage, 143. 
Suffrage, granted negroes, 265-266. 

restriction of, 263-264. 
Supreme courts, state, 313-314. 

Taft, W. H., as President, 376. 
Tariff, the Payne-Aldrich, 127. 

the Underwood, 126-127. 

See Customs duties ; also Taxation. 
Taxation, capitation tax, 159. 

corporation tax, 127-128. 



416 



INDEX 



Taxation, direct, 159-160. 

federal, 124-125. 

income tax, 128-130. 

internal revenue, 127. 

tariff, 126-127. 
Temperance and prohibition in states, 321. 
Territorial delegates, 63. 
Territories, partly organized, 246-247. 

unorganized, 248. 
Territory, the, becoming a state, 242-243. 

government of, 244. 
Territory, Northwest, the, 240. 

acquisition of, by the U. S., 243-244. 
Titles of nobility, 161-162. 
Tobacco trust case, 134-135. 
Town, the, importance of, 282. 

in New England, 281-282. 

meetings of, 281. 

origin of, 279-281. 
Town government, 336-337- 
Townshend Acts, 18-19. 
Township government, different forms of, 282- 
283. 

importance of, 285-286. 

mixed, 293. 

officers of, 284-285. 

spread of, 283-284. 
Treason, defined, 226. 

punishment of, 227-228. 
Treasury Department, 186-188. 
Treasury notes, nature of, 146. 
Treaties, defined, 198. 

Senate's share in making, 199. 

terms of, 198-199. 
Trial by jury, 221. 



Tribe, the, in early England, 279. 
Trusts, defined, 134. 

regulation of, 134-135. 

state control of, 330-332. 
Tun, the, 278. 

Underwood tariff, the, 126. 

Union of Connecticut, 13. 

Union, relation of states to, 27-28, 45-47, 233- 

. 235- 
United States, the annual expense of govern- 
ment of, 125. 
in international affairs, 275-276. 

Veto, of President, 92-93. 
Vice President, duties of, 75. 

election of, 171 ff. 
Village government, 336-337. 
"Vindex," Samuel Adams as, 19. 
Virginia plan, 39. 
Voters, independent, 385-386. 

War, Department of, 188-190. 
War, a state of, 272-273. 

declaring, 113. 

powers of Congress on, 113-115. 

rights of nations in, 273. 
Washington, George, 21. 

as President, 52. 

president of the Constitutional Convention, 
37, 42-43- . 
Webster, Pelatiah, plan of government of, 

34- 
Weights and measures, 106-107. 
Woman suffrage, 320-321. 



SUPPLEMENT: GOVERNMENT IN 
KENTUCKY 



BY 

Arndt M. Stickles 



INTRODUCTION 

The discussion of local and state government in the book 
proper gives, in the main, the essential facts pertaining to 
all the states. In this supplement the attempt is made to 
give, in a brief way. leading facts of Kentucky's govern- 
ment. At the end of each of the last nine chapters in the 
" Elements of Government " will be found helpful sug- 
gestive material to the student of Kentucky government. 
Maps of Kentucky showing county boundaries, and the 
Official Manual issued by the state, may be easilv obtained 
and are indispensable to the student. 

Constitutions of Kentucky. — The present state of Ken- 
tucky was at first an indefinite westward extension of Vir- 
ginia. Only after nine different conventions had met in 
Kentucky, asking for separation from the mother state. 
did Congress and Virginia finally consent, and the state 
entered the Union June i. 1792. Owing to defects, the con- 
stitution adopted in 1792 was set aside, and a new one was 
adopted and went into effect June 1. 1800. In 1850 the 
third constitution, which was much more democratic than 
the preceding two. was ratified. The third constitution 

E. P. 1. — Copyright, 1914, by Arndt M. Stickles. 



2 GOVERNMENT IN KENTUCKY 

had left much of the appointive power to offices in the 
counties in the hands of the governor, however, and also 
was very difficult to amend. In 1891 the present constitu- 
tion was framed and adopted. As is true of other states, 
Kentucky's constitution is the supreme law of the com- 
monwealth, to which its legislature, executive and judiciary, 
must conform. Sections 256, 257, and 258 explain the 
method of amending the constitution. The method of 
amending most commonly used is the one providing for 
the passage of an act by three fifths of the total member- 
ship of each house, which must then be affirmed by a majority 
of the state's total vote on the amendment at the next 
general election for members of the house of representa- 
tives (Sec. 256). 

Community Government 

Kentucky very naturally introduced the political system 
and customs of Virginia. Hence, the commonwealth has 
not the township system or the county-township system of 
local government used in so many of the states. However, 
immediate local government is represented by a school 
trustee and a magistrate. 

The Rural School District. — For educational purposes 
each county is divided into four, six, or eight educational 
divisions, each division of which is subdivided into sub- 
districts. A trustee is elected in each subdistrict by the 
legal voters of that subdistrict. This trustee may nomi- 
nate a teacher, or teachers, for his subdistrict and super- 
vise locally his schools, but he reports his main needs to 
the division board. The subdistrict trustee's powers are 
limited purely to school affairs such as are commonly per- 
formed by school directors in many states. More will be 



COMMUNITY GOVERNMENT 3 

said later about education and educational control and 
direction. 

The Civil District. — While Kentucky has no township 
divisions in its county, each county is divided into from 
three to eight magisterial districts, commonly called civil 
districts. Each district elects a justice of the peace and 
one constable whose terms of office are four years each. 
All kinds of petty criminal and civil cases may be tried in 
the magistrate's court if the amount involved does not 
exceed $100. Civil and criminal cases not settled by 
magistrates are remanded to the higher courts of the 
county. 

County Government 

Formation and Function of Counties. — Any county in 
Kentucky may be abolished and new ones may be created 
by the legislature of the state. The state now has 120 
counties. To create a new county from areas of other 
counties, the counties already formed must not be reduced 
in content to less than 400 square miles, nor may they be 
left with fewer than 12.000 inhabitants. The proposed new 
county must present a petition signed by a majority of the 
voters living in such division, it must have a minimum 
area of 400 square miles, and it must assume its proportion- 
ate share of indebtedness incurred by the counties from 
which it was taken (Sees. 63. 64. 65). 

The county serves as a unit or partial unit for represen- 
tation in the legislature, is a judicial unit for the county 
court, and also a unit or partial unit of the circuit court. 
It collects the taxes within its boundaries, enforces the 
civil and criminal laws of the state, and acts generally as 
the state's administrative agent. 



4 GOVERNMENT IN KENTUCKY 

Officers. — The duties of county officers will be stated 
very briefly, and only such duties as differ from those given 
in this book under county government will be emphasized. 
For fuller discussion see the textbook. 

A Kentucky county has the following-named officers 
whose duties are confined to the limits within its boundaries, 
serving the county primarily, and each having an elective 
term of four years, except the circuit court clerk, who is 
elected for six years : the assessor, the circuit clerk, the 
county attorney, the county clerk, the coroner, the county 
judge, the jailer, the sheriff, the superintendent of schools, 
and the surveyor. 

The county judge. — The county judge is in a large 
measure connected with the legislative work of the county 
since he presides over the fiscal court. The fiscal court of 
each county determines the annual salary of the county 
judge. 

The county judge holds a regular session of court monthly. 
He may hold a juvenile court in a special session of the 
county court to care for delinquent or indigent children, 
and may hold frequent sessions, but must hold quarterly 
court every three months to try petty civil cases in which 
the amount involved does not exceed $200. In criminal 
cases, his authority is the same as that of a justice of the 
peace, and he holds examining trials in murder cases. 

The county judge commits insane persons to an asylum if 
the circuit court is not in session ; examines claims of persons 
applying for Confederate pensions ; places paupers in the 
county infirmary ; probates wills and estates ; appoints 
guardians and administrators; issues licenses to peddlers, 
ferrymen, and liquor sellers, and enforces the compulsory 
education laws. The county judge need not be a lawyer, 



COUNTY GOVERNMENT 5 

but owing to the great importance of the office, he should 
be a man of highest character and excellent judgment. 

With the justices of the peace, unless, as permitted by 
the constitution, a board of three commissioners is sub- 
stituted for the justices, the county judge presides over the 
fiscal court. This court has duties similar to those of 
county commissioners in many states. It fixes the tax 
rate for the county and makes such tax levies as are deemed 
sufficient for the county's annual expense ; provides the 
maintenance of the county's roads, public buildings, 
bridges, and the poor ; also, the fiscal court determines the 
salary of county officers left to their discretion by law. In 
the larger and more populous counties the fiscal court 
may appoint, pay, and remove additional minor officers 
to those named for the county. 

The sheriff. — The sheriff is the chief executive officer of 
the county. The text fully discusses the sheriff's duties. 
A sheriff is not eligible for the next term in Kentucky. He 
is a member of the board of election commissioners. His 
salary, except in counties having over 75,000 inhabitants, 
when it comes from the state treasury, is paid from fees he 
receives as the collector of taxes and in executing the 
orders of the courts of the county. 

The jailer. — The jailer's duties are clear from his title. 
He assists the sheriff in serving processes of courts in the 
county, and is the custodian of the courthouse and other 
county buildings. His salary is determined by fees and 
the number of prisoners he has in charge during any year ; 
except in counties with over 75,000 inhabitants his salary is 
fixed by law at $5000. 

County clerk. — This office in Kentucky is similar to 
what in many states is known as county auditor. In 



6 GOVERNMENT IN KENTUCKY 

each instance this officer is the county's bookkeeper. In 
Kentucky he keeps a record of the proceedings of the fiscal, 
county, and quarterly courts ; administers oaths to jurors 
and witnesses ; records wills, deeds, .and mortgages ; issues 
marriage licenses and election certificates, and preserves 
all the public records of a county. 

County attorney. — This officer is the county's legal ad- 
viser. Besides advising the county officers, he acts as 
attorney for the county in all its suits, prosecutes offenders 
in justices' courts and in examining trials, and, when re- 
quested, he must assist the commonwealth attorney in the 
circuit court. 

Other county officers. — The duties of the assessor, cir- 
cuit clerk, coroner, superintendent of schools, and surveyor 
are fully given in the first part of this volume under county 
officers. The assessor and superintendent of schools will 
be referred to again later. 

Circuit Judge. — In giving the circuit judge as a county 
officer, it should be remembered that while he serves the 
county, he and a commonwealth's attorney are elected by 
the people of a circuit, or a district, often comprising several 
counties. There are thirty-six judicial districts in the 
state. The legislature frequently changes the districts 
and the number of judges, but at present (19 14) Kenton 
County has two circuit judges ; Jefferson County, contain- 
ing Louisville, has seven circuit judges ; in each of the 
other districts there is one judge. The circuit judge may 
not hold less than three sessions of court a year. The term 
of the judge is six years, and the salary is paid partly by 
the state and partly by the county. To be eligible for the 
office of circuit judge in Kentucky, one must have been a 
practicing lawyer for at least eight years (Sec. 130). The 



COUNTY GOVERNMENT 7 

circuit judge's duties and powers are given fully elsewhere 
in this volume. 

Commonwealth's attorney. — Each judicial district has a 
commonwealth's attorney who is elected by the voters at 
the same time as the judge, for the same term, and receives 
his salary in the same manner. He presents violations of 
the state's laws in the courts of the district and defends 
the general interests of the state. 

The county in the state legislature. — Since Kentucky 
has a senate composed of 38 members and a house of rep- 
resentatives composed of 100 members, it is evident that 
with 120 counties in the state, the great majority of sena- 
torial districts must consist of several counties, while only 
about half the counties comprise districts for representa- 
tives with one representative to a single county. Senators 
and representatives are supposed to assist their respective 
counties and districts in getting legislation of local interest, 
as well as to legislate for the general welfare of the state 
at large. More will be said elsewhere of the work of the 
state legislature. 

A matter clearly in evidence will present itself to the 
thoughtful student : The Kentucky county pays too much 
in salaries to its officials under the old fees system. Only 
a very small portion of the people knows what the salaries 
of the county officials are. The state is far behind many 
others in this matter. Great economy, greater efficiency, 
and cleaner politics would result if a law were passed 
putting all the counties into classes according to popu- 
lation, fixing the salary of each county official in a 
class, and compelling all fees to be turned into the state 
treasury. The salary schedule would be revised at inter- 
vals by the legislature. 



8 GOVERNMENT IN KENTUCKY 

Municipal Government 

Kentucky's population is about 2,300,000; of these only 
about one fourth live in cities of more than 2500; the re- 
mainder live in small cities, towns, and in rural communi- 
ties. However, the influence of city and town govern- 
ments is such an important factor in the state that they 
are worthy of attention. 

Towns. — Any community with fewer than 1000 in- 
habitants, consisting of as many as 125 persons residing 
within a square area, each side being a quarter of a mile 
long, may, upon petition to the circuit judge by two thirds 
of its people, be recognized by him as a town. A town's 
officers for the first two years after its organization are 
appointed by the circuit judge of the district in which the 
town is located. Afterwards, the town has the following 
officers, each being elected by the legal voters thereof : 
an assessor, a police judge, and a marshal, each elected for 
four years, whose duties are given elsewhere in this volume ; 
also, five trustees are chosen who may appoint other officials 
than those mentioned for the town, and have general super- 
vision of the town's affairs. Towns are municipalities of 
the sixth class. 

City Government. — The constitution requires that cities 
must be divided into six classes, that each class shall be 
entitled to a charter defining its government, and that 
while a legislature may change charters at any time, any 
law affecting cities must apply uniformly to all cities within 
a class (Sec. 156). No franchise can be granted by cities 
for more than twenty years (Sec. 164). 

Classes of Cities. — Kentucky divides its cities into five 
classes as follows : — 



MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT 9 

i. Those with 100,000 inhabitants or more. Louisville 
is the only one of this class. 

2. Those with 20,000 to 100,000 (Covington, Lexington, 
Newport, and Paducah). 

3. Those with 8000 to 20,000. 

4. Those with 3000 to 8000. 

5. Those with 1000 to 3000. 

Louisville's charter gives that city many privileges. It 
has a legislative body consisting of a board of 12 aldermen, 
elected by the city at large for two years, and the board 
of council, consisting of 24 members, 2 councilmen being 
elected from each ward for a term of two years. The city 
has a mayor elected for a term of four years, and he is 
paid a salary of $5000 annually. The mayor is not a mem- 
ber of either branch of the legislative body, but may exer- 
cise the veto power on ordinances or on items in ordinances ; 
however, any measure may be repassed by the general 
council over his veto. Minor city officials, whether ap- 
pointed by the mayor alone, nominated by the mayor 
alone and elected by the general council, or elected directly 
by the people, are all removable by the mayor, which re- 
moval is final unless disapproved by a majority of the 
aldermen within thirty days. This power of the mayor 
secures cooperation among city officials. 

Cities of the second class. — Under a recent law cities 
of this class may vote to adopt the commission plan of 
government. The plan is almost identical with that 
described in this volume under the Galveston and Des 
Moines governments. 

Third-, fourth-, and fifth-class cities each elect a mayor 
for four years, who presides at the meetings of the council 
but who may not vote except in case of a tie, a council 



IO GOVERNMENT IN KENTUCKY 

consisting of one chamber for two years, and a police judge 
for four years. The duties and powers are similar to those 
given in the chapter on city government. 

The State Government 

The Legislature. — The law-making body is officially 
known in Kentucky as the General Assembly. So as to, 
keep the districts nearly equal in population, the legisla- 
ture redistricts the state every ten years. The term of a 
representative is two years, the salary $10 per day during 
the 60 legislative days of a biennial session, with an 
addition of 15 cents for each mile traveled for one round 
trip from the member's home to the capital. The same 
facts hold true for the senator, except his term is for four 
years. The regular session begins on the Tuesday after 
the first Monday in January in the even-numbered years. 
For the qualifications and privileges of members, see Sees. 
32, 43, 44, and 45 of the constitution. 

The rules of procedure of each general assembly may 
be found in the Official Manual. 

The State's Supreme Court. — Kentucky's highest court 
is known as the Court of Appeals, which sits at Frankfort. 
Its seven justices are elected for eight years on a district 
ticket and receive $5000 each. The chief or presiding 
justice is he who has been longest in service on the Court 
of Appeals bench. This court hears cases appealed from 
circuit courts, and its decision is final on any matter in- 
volving only state affairs (Sec. 114). The clerk of the 
Court of Appeals is ejected at the same time as is the gov- 
ernor and serves for four years. 



THE STATE EXECUTIVE II 



The State Executive 



The Governor. — The governor is elected for four years, 
is ineligible for the next term, receives a salary of $6500, 
and has the use of a mansion at Frankfort. The governor 
of Kentucky, as in many states, has no control whatever 
over other state officers elected with him. Sections 69-85 
of the constitution define the qualifications of the governor 
and state his duties. What has been said about the gov- 
ernor elsewhere in this book is generally true here. 

Other Elective Executive Officers. — Other state officers 
elected by the people are : the lieutenant governor, the 
secretary of state, the auditor, treasurer, the attorney- 
general, the superintendent of public instruction, the com- 
missioner of agriculture, and three railroad commissioners. 
All these serve for a term of four years. The duties of 
these office s is clear from their titles, but what is stated 
elsewhere in this volume generally applies here. 

Appointive Officers. — The most important of the officers 
appointed by the governor with the salary of each are : — 

1. The Adjutant General, $2000. 

2. Bank Commissioner, $3600 and traveling expenses. 
He has a deputy and two examiners to assist him. 

3. Commissioner of Public Roads, $3000. 

4. Executive Agent of Game and Fish Commission, $2500. 

5. Factory Inspectors, $1200. 

6. Hospital Superintendents (3), $2000 each. 

7. Insurance Commissioner, $3600. 

8. Inspector of Mines, $1800 and traveling expenses. 
Assistant Inspectors, $1500 each. 

9. Librarian (at capitol), $1800. 

10. Secretary of the State Fair, $2500. 



12 GOVERNMENT IN KENTUCKY 

ii. State Inspector and Examiner, $3000 and traveling 
expenses. 

12. Warden of the Penitentiary, $2000. 

The following are the most important of the appointive 
boards : — 

1. Agriculture, 9 members. 

2. Prison Commission, 3 members. 

3. Health, 8 members. 

4. Insurance (appointed by the auditor), 3 members. 

5. Equalization, 9 members. 

6. Prison Commission, 3 members. 

7. Board of Control for Charitable Institutions, 4 
members. 

8. Library Commission, 5 members. 

9. Dental Examiners, 5 members. 

10. Game and Fish Commission, 4 members. 

11. Forestry, 6 members. 

12. Election Commissioners, 3 members. 

The terms and salaries of these boards may be found in 
the Official Manual. 

Education and Health 

As has been stated, a county outside of cities is divided 
into four, or six, or eight educational divisions. Each divi- 
sion has its subdistricts, each subdistrict its trustee, and the 
several subdistricts form a division board, which selects 
the teachers for the schools of the division. The several 
subdistrict trustees elect a chairman for the division, and 
the several chairmen of the division boards, together with 
the county superintendent of schools, form the county 
board of education, which has the general management 
and direction of the schools of the county. 



EDUCATION AND HEALTH 1 3 

Cities have their own school systems, independent of 
the county in which they are located, and may require 
special certification of their teachers. 

No state has been more generous to its public schools 
and state institutions of learning than has Kentucky 
during the last decade. Two inspectors for rural schools 
and one for high schools have helped materially to secure 
coordination and to standardize the schools. 

Until recently, practically all funds for the maintenance 
of rural schools came from the state treasury and were 
distributed from there to the several counties. However, 
now all rural schools must have a minimum term of six 
months, and they may levy a local tax to supplement the 
funds received from the state. This greatly assists local 
interest in education. 

Incorrigible children of both sexes have schools at 
Greendale, where they are trained in useful arts for good 
citizenship. 

Realizing that its public schools would never improve 
until it trained its teachers, the state recently established 
two state normal schools, — the Eastern at Richmond and 
the Western at Bowling Green, — the graduates of which 
are certificated and licensed to teach in the common and 
high schools of the state. Tuition to those intending to 
teach is practically free at both state normal schools. At 
Frankfort is located the Normal and Industrial Institute 
for Colored Persons. 

At Lexington is located the state university which offers 
courses in the liberal arts and the professions. The normal 
schools and the university at present must depend for 
maintenance upon special appropriations by the legisla- 
ture. Under this plan these institutions can never rise in 



14 GOVERNMENT IN KENTUCKY 

prominence to the standard a great commonwealth would 
have them, for it does not allow of expansion and develop- 
ment as it should. Their maintenance should be placed 
beyond doubt and uncertainty by the legislature, as has 
been done in many states, through the assessment of suffi- 
cient millage on the property of the state to guarantee a 
liberal annual support. 

The Kentucky School for the Deaf is located at Dan- 
ville; the Institute for the Blind at Louisville; the In- 
stitute for Feeble-minded Children at Frankfort. 

At Bowling Green is located Kentucky's state board of 
health and bureau of vital statistics. This board is doing- 
efficient work in teaching the state sanitation and the pre- 
vention and spread of disease. The board of health, 
assisted by a special board of tuberculosis commissioners, 
has done much to prevent and to stamp out tuberculosis 
in the state. 

Hospitals and Prisons. — Kentucky maintains three 
hospitals for the insane : the Eastern at Lexington, the 
Central at Lakeland, and the Western at Hopkinsville. 
Besides this a large sum is spent annually to help idiots 
and feeble-minded paupers at their homes. 

Two prisons are maintained by the state. Men and 
women guilty of lesser crimes are sent to the Reformatory 
at Frankfort, while those sentenced for long or life terms, 
or to death, are sent to the penitentiary at Eddyville. 

Elections 

Suffrage. — Any man who has lived in Kentucky one 
year, in the county six months, and in the precinct sixty 
days, and is a citizen 21 years old may vote. An alien 
may not vote until he is a citizen of the United States. A 



ELECTIONS 1 5 

prisoner, soldier, or sailor, stationed in the state may not 
vote, and any one convicted of treason, felony, bribery in 
elections, or if sent to the state prison for certain other 
crimes, may not vote again unless pardoned by the gov- 
ernor. 

Women with the same qualifications as men may vote 
on school questions, for school officers, and may hold any 
school office except that of state superintendent. 

In cities of 5000 or more an annual registration is re- 
quired. In such cities women must register in a separate 
book. 

Nominations for all elective offices, except in some of 
the cities, must be in a primary by a party preference 
vote. This law includes candidates for Congress. A 
voter must express his party preference before he may vote 
in a primary. However, whether one is allowed to vote 
or not. if irregular, depends upon the will of the officers 
conducting the primary. Candidates may have their 
names placed on a ballot at any regular election by secur- 
ing a minimum of 1000 signatures to petitions for state 
offices ; only 100 are necessary for county offices, and only 
20 for those in a precinct. 

Elections are held every year throughout Kentucky on 
the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. 
There would be less unrest, a great saving of time and 
money, and equally good results if elections came only 
every two years. Ballots are furnished free, and the secret 
party-column Australian system is used in nearly all 
elections. A heavy penalty attaches to a conviction for 
either buying or selling a vote. 

Revenue and Taxation. — The problem of raising suffi- 
cient revenue to pay the annual expenses of a state without 



1 6 GOVERNMENT IN KENTUCKY 

arousing discontent among its citizens, driving capital out 
of the state, and discouraging new capital from coming 
into it, is a hard and difficult problem everywhere. Ken- 
tucky has a state railroad commission composed of three 
men, elected by the people which has extensive powers 
given them over railroads ; banking and insurance are 
regulated by state commissions; these corporations and 
all others must pay high incorporation fees into the state 
treasury, submit to laws and regulations for corporations 
which in some particulars are burdensome, and pay high 
taxes to the county and city in which they are located, 
and, of course, through these pay also to the state. 

The annual expenses of Kentucky average $7,000,000, 
which sum must be raised chiefly by taxes. Part of the 
revenue comes through incorporation, franchise, and regu- 
lation fees of corporations and associations, but far the 
greater portion of the state's income is by taxes. It is the 
duty of the county assessor to find and list all kinds of 
property subject to taxation. Under present laws a uni- 
form tax rate is to be assessed upon the fair cash value of 
all property in the state. Not getting all real estate listed 
for taxation, not getting visible property uniformly valued, 
and getting only a small part of invisible property such as 
notes, bonds, mortgages, and other securities for taxation 
are problems the state is trying to solve. 

The present state tax is 50 cents on each $100 worth of 
property, and the county tax, with a local levy for school 
and road purposes, will equal or slightly exceed that sum. 
It should be understood that cities must pay both the state 
and county tax, and^ in addition, must pay a supplemental 
city tax for the purposes of maintaining the cost of munic- 
ipal government and of schools. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE COMMONWEALTH 
OF KENTUCKY. . 

Preamble. 

We, the people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, grateful to 
Almighty God for the civil, political, and religious liberties we enjoy, 
and invoking the continuance of these blessings, do ordain and estab- 
lish this Constitution. 

Bill of Rights. 

That the great and essential principles of liberty and free govern- 
ment may be recognized and established, we declare that : — 

Section i. All men are by nature free and equal, and have certain 
inherent and inalienable rights, among which may be reckoned — 

i. The right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties. 

2. The right of worshiping Almighty God according to the dic- 
tates of their consciences. 

3. The right of seeking and pursuing their safety and happiness. 

4. The right of freely communicating their thoughts and opinions. 

5. The right of acquiring and protecting property. 

6. The right of assembling together in a peaceable manner for their 
common good, and of applying to those invested with the power of 
government for redress of grievances or other proper purposes, by 
petition, address, or remonstrance. 

7. The right to bear arms in defense of themselves and of the State, 
subject to the power of the General Assembly to enact laws to prevent 
persons from carrying concealed weapons. 

Sec. 2. Absolute and arbitrary power over the lives, liberty, and 
property of freemen exists nowhere in a republic, not even in the 
largest majority. 

Sec. 3. All men, when they form a social compact, are equal ; and 
no grant of exclusive, separate public emoluments or privileges shall 
be made to any man or set of men, except in consideration of public 
services ; but no property shall be exempt from taxation except as 
provided in this Constitution ; and every grant of a franchise, privi- 
lege, or exemption, shall remain subject to revocation, alteration, or 
amendment. 

Sec. 4. All power is inherent in the people, and all free govern- 
ments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace 

i 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. 



safety, happiness, and the protection of property. For the advance- 
ment of these ends, they have at all times an inalienable and indefeasi- 
ble right to alter, reform, or abolish their government in such manner 
as they may deem proper. 

Sec. 5. No preference shall ever be given by law to any religious 
sect, society, or denomination ; nor to any particular creed, mode of 
worship, or system of ecclesiastical polity ; nor shall any person be 
compelled to attend any place of worship, to contribute to the erection 
or maintenance of any such place or to the salary or support of any 
minister of religion; nor shall any man be compelled to send his child 
to any school to which he may be conscientiously opposed ; and the 
civil rights, privileges, or capacities of no person shall be taken away, 
or in any wise diminished or enlarged, on account of his belief or dis- 
belief of any religious tenet, dogma, or teaching. No human author- 
ity shall, in any case whatever, control or interfere with the rights of 
conscience. 

Sec. 6. All elections shall be free and equal. 

Sec. 7. The ancient mode of trial by jury shall be held sacred, and 
the right thereof remain inviolate, subject to such modifications as 
may be authorized by this Constitution. 

Sec. 8. Printing presses shall be free to every person who under- 
takes to examine the proceedings of the General Assembly or any 
branch of government, and no law shall ever be made to restrain the 
right thereof. Every person may freely and fully speak, write, and 
print on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty. 

Sec. 9. In prosecutions for the publication of papers investigating 
the official conduct of officers or men in a public capacity, or where 
the matter published is proper for public information, the truth there- 
of may be given in evidence; and in all indictments for libel the jury 
shall have the right to determine the law and the facts, under the 
direction of the court, as in other cases. 

Sec. 10. The people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers, 
and possessions, from unreasonable search and seizure ; and no war- 
rant shall issue to search any place, or seize any person or thing, with- 
out describing them as nearly as may be, nor without probable cause 
supported by oath or affirmation. 

Sec. 11. In all criminal prosecutions the accused has the right to be 
heard by himself and counsel ; to demand the nature and cause of the 
accusation against him ; to meet the witnesses face to face, and to 
have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor. He 
cannot be compelled to give evidence against himself, nor can he be 
deprived of his life, liberty, or property, unless by the judgment of 
his peers or the law of the land ; and in prosecutions by indictment 
or information, he shall have a speedy public trial by an impartial jury 
of the vicinage ; but the General Assembly may provide by a general 
law for a change of venue in such prosecutions for both the defendant 
and the Commonwealth, the change to be made to the most convenient 
county in which a fair trial can be obtained. 

Sec. 12. No person, for.an indictable offense, shall be proceeded 
against criminally by information, except in cases arising in the land 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. iii 

or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war 
or public danger, or by leave of court for oppression or misdemeanor 
in office. 

Sec. 13. No person shall, for the same offense, be twice put in jeop- 
ardy of his life or limb, nor shall any man's property be taken or 
applied to public use without the consent of his representatives, and 
without just compensation being previously made to him. 

Sec. 14. All courts shall be open, and every person, for an injury 
done him in his lands, goods, person, or reputation, shall have remedy 
by due course of law, and right and justice administered without sale, 
denial, or delay. 

Sec. 15. No power to suspend laws shall be exercised, unless by 
the General Assembly or its authority. 

Sec. 16. All prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient securities, un- 
less for capital offenses, when the proof is evident or the presumpti n 
great ; and the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be sus- 
pended, unless when, in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety 
may require it. 

Sec. 17. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines 
imposed, nor cruel punishment inflicted. 

Sec. 18. The person of a debtor, where there is not strong pre- 
sumption of fraud, shall not be continued in prison after delivering 
up his estate for the benefit of his creditors in such manner as shall be 
prescribed by law. 

Sec. 19. No ex post facto law, nor any law impairing the obligation 
of contracts, shall be enacted. 

Sec. 20. No person shall be attainted of treason or felony by the 
General Assembly, and no attainder bhaU work corruption of blood, 
nor, except during the life of the offender, forfeiture of estate to the 
Commonwealth. 

Sec. 21. The estate of such persons as shall destroy their own lives 
shall descend or vest as in cases of natural death ; and if any person 
shall be killed by casualty, there shall be no forfeiture by reason 
thereof. 

Sec. 22. No standing army shall, in time of peace, be maintained 
without the consent of the General Assembly ; and the military shall, 
in all cases and at all times, be in strict subordination to the civil 
power ; nor shall any soldier, in time of peace, be quartered in any 
house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war. except in 
a manner prescribed by law. 

Sec 23. The General Assembly shall not grant any title of nobility 
or hereditary distinction, nor create any office the appointment of 
which shall be for a longer time than a term of years. 

Sec. 24. Emigration from the State shall not be prohibited. 

Sec. 25. Slavery and involuntary servitude in this State are forbid- 
den, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have 
been duly convicted. 

Sec. 26. To guard against transgression of the high powers which 
we have delegated, we declare that everything in this Bill of Rights is 
excepted out of the general powers of government, and shall forever 



iv CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. 

remain inviolate ; and all laws contrary thereto, or contrary to this 
Constitution, shall be void. 

Distribution of the Powers of Government. 

Sec. 27. The powers of the government of the Commonwealth of 
Kentucky shall be divided into three distinct departments, and each 
of them be confined to a separate body of magistracy : to wit, those 
which are legislative, to one ; those which are executive, to another ; 
and those which are judicial, to another. 

Sec. 28. No person, or collection of persons, being of one of those 
departments, shall exercise any power properly belonging to either of 
the others, except in the instances hereinafter expressly directed or 
permitted. 

Legislative Department. 

Sec. 29. The legislative power shall be vested in a House of Repre- 
sentatives and a Senate, which together shall be styled the " General 
Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky." 

Sec. 30. Members of the House of Representatives and senators 
elected at the August election in one thousand eight hundred and 
ninety-one, and senators then holding over, shall continue in office 
until and including the last day of December, one thousand eight 
hundred and ninety-three. Thereafter the term of office of representa- 
tives and senators shall begin upon the first day of January of the 
year succeeding their election. 

Sec. 31. At the general election in the year one thousand eight 
hundred and ninety-three one senator shall be elected in each sena- 
torial district, and one representative in each representative district. 
The senators then elected shall hold their offices, one-half for two 
years and one-half for four years, as shall be determined by lot at the 
first session of the General Assembly after their election, and the 
representatives shall hold their offices for two years. Every two years 
thereafter there shall be elected for four years one senator in each 
senatorial district in which the term of his predecessor in office will 
then expire, and in every representative district one representative for 
two years. 

Sec. 32. No person shall be a representative who, at the time of 
his election, is not a citizen of Kentucky, has not attained the age of 
twenty-four years, and who has not resided in this State two years 
next preceding his election, and the last year thereof in the county, 
town, or city for which he may be chosen. No person shall be a sen- 
ator who, at the time of his election, is not a citizen of Kentucky, 
has not attained the age of thirty years, and has not resided in this 
State six years next preceding his election, and the last year thereof 
in the district for which he may be chosen. 

Sec. 33. The first General Assembly after the adoption of this Con- 
stitution shall divide the State into thirty-eight senatorial districts, 
and one hundred representative districts, as nearly equal in popula- 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. 



tion as may be without dividing any county, except where a county 
may include more than one district, which districts shall constitute the 
senatorial and representative districts for ten years. Not more than 
two counties shall be joined together to form a representative dis- 
trict : provided, in doing so, the principle requiring every district to 
be as nearly equal in population as may be shall not be violated. At 
the expiration of that time, the General Assembly shall then, and 
every ten years thereafter, redistrict the State according to this rule, 
and for the purposes expressed in this section. If, in making said 
districts, inequality of population should be unavoidable, any advan- 
tage resulting therefrom shall be given to districts having the largest 
territory. No part of a county shall be added to another county to 
make a district, and the counties forming a district shall be con- 
tiguous. 

Sec. 34. The House of Representatives shall choose its speaker 
and other officers, and the Senate shall have power to choose its 
officers, biennially. 

Sec. 35. The number of representatives shall be one hundred, and 
the number of senators thirty-eight. 

Sec. 36. The first General Assembly, the members of which shall 
be elected under this Constitution, shall meet on the first Tuesday 
after the first Monday in January, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, 
and thereafter the General Assembly shall meet on the same day 
every second year, and its sessions shall be held at the seat of gov- 
ernment, except in case of war, insurrection, or pestilence, when it 
may, by proclamation of the governor, assemble, for the time being, 
elsewhere. 

Sec. 37. Not less than a majority of the members of each House 
of the General Assembly shall constitute a quorum to do business ; 
but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and shall be 
authorized by law to compel the attendance of absent members in 
such manner and under such penalties as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 38. Each House of the General Assembly shall judge of the 
qualifications, elections, and returns of its members, but a contested 
election shall be determined in such manner as shall be directed by 
law. 

Sec. 39. Each House of the General Assembly may determine the 
rules of its proceedings, punish a member for disorderly behavior, 
and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a 
second time for the same cause, and may punish for contempt any 
person who refuses to attend as a witness, or to bring any paper 
proper to be used as evidence before the General Assembly or either 
House thereof, or a committee of either, or to testify concerning any 
matter which may be a proper subject of inquiry by the General 
Assembly, or offers or gives a bribe to a member of the General 
Assembly, or attempts by other corrupt means or device to control or 
influence a member to cast his vote or withhold the same. The pun- 
ishment and mode of proceeding for contempt in such cases shall be 
prescribed by law, but the term of imprisonment in any such case 
shall not extend beyond the session of the General Assembly. 



vi CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. 



Sec. 40. Each House of the General Assembly shall keep and 
publish daily a journal of its proceedings ; and the yeas and nays of 
the members on any question shall, at the desire of any two of the 
members elected, be entered on the journal. 

Sec. 41. Neither House, during the session of the General Assem- 
bly, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than 
three days, nor to any other place than that in which it may be sitting. 

Sec. 42. The members of the General Assembly shall severally 
receive from the State treasury compensation for their services, which 
shall be five dollars a day during their attendance on, and fifteen 
cents per mile for the necessary travel in going to and returning from, 
the sessions of their respective Houses : provided the same may be 
changed by law ; but no change shall take effect during the session at 
which it is made ; nor shall a session of the General Assembly con- 
tinue beyond sixty legislative days, exclusive of Sundays and legal 
holidays ; but this limitation as to length of session shall not apply to 
the first session held under this Constitution, nor to the Senate when 
sitting as a court of impeachment. A -legislative day shall be con- 
strued to mean a calendar day. 

Sec. 43. The members of the General Assembly shall, in all cases 
except treason, felony, breach or surety of the peace, be privileged 
from arrest during their attendance on the sessions of their respective 
Houses, and in going to and returning from the same ; and for any 
speech or debate in either House they shall not be questioned in any 
other place. 

Sec. 44. No senator or representative shall, during the term for 
which he was elected, nor for one year thereafter, be appointed or 
elected to any civil office of profit in this Commonwealth, which shall 
have been created, or the emoluments of which shall have been 
increased, during the said term, except to such offices as may be filled 
by the election of the people. 

Sec. 45. No person who may have been a collector of taxes or 
public moneys for the Commonwealth, or for any county, city, town, 
or district, or the assistant or deputy of such collector, shall be 
eligible to the General Assembly, unless he shall have obtained a 
quietus six months before the election for the amount of such 
collection, and for all public moneys for which he may have been 
responsible. 

Sec. 46. No bill shall be considered for final passage, unless the 
same has been reported by a committee, and printed for the use of 
the members. Every bill shall be read at length on three different 
days in each House, but the second and third readings may be dis- 
pensed with by a majority of all the members elected to the House in 
which the bill is pending. But whenever a committee refuses or fails 
to report a bill submitted to it in a reasonable time, the same may be 
called up by any member, and be considered in the same mannci it 
would have been considered if it had been reported. No bill shall 
become a law unless, on its final passage, it receives the votes of at 
least two-fifths of the members elected to each House, and a majority 
of the members voting, the vote to be taken by yeas and nays and en- 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. vii 



tered in the journal : provided any act or resolution for the appropri- 
ation of money or the creation of debt shall, on its final passage, receive 
the votes of a majority of all the members elected to each House. 

Sec. 47. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House 
of Representatives, but the Senate may propose amendments thereto : 
provided no new matter shall be introduced, under color of amend- 
ment, which does not relate to raising revenue. 

Sec. 48. The General Assembly shall have no power to enact laws 
to diminish the resources of the sinking fund as now established by 
law until the debt of the Commonwealth be paid, but may enact laws 
to increase them ; and the whole resources of said fund, from year to 
year, shall be sacredly set apart, and applied to the payment of the in- 
terest and principal of the State debt, and to no other use or purpose, 
until the whole debt of the State is fully satisfied. 

Sec. 49. The General Assembly may contract debts to meet casual 
deficits or failures in the revenue ; but such debts, direct or contingent, 
singly or in the aggregate, shall not at any time exceed five hundred 
thousand dollars, and the moneys arising from loans creating such 
debts shall be applied only to the purpose or purposes for which they 
were obtained, or to repay such debts : provided the General Assembly 
may contract debts to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, or, if hos- 
tilities are threatened, provide for the public defense. 

Sec. 50. No act of the General Assembly shall authorize any debt 
to be contracted on behalf of the Commonwealth except for the pur- 
poses mentioned in section forty-nine, unless provision be made therein 
to levy and collect an annual tax sufficient to pay the interest stipu- 
lated, and to discharge the debt within thirty years ; nor shall such act 
take effect until it shall have been submitted to the people at a general 
election, and shall have received a majority of all the votes cast for 
and against it : provided the General Assembly may contract debts by 
borrowing money to pay any part of the debt of the State, without 
submission to the people, and without making provision in the act 
authorizing the same for a tax to discharge the debt so contracted, 
or the interest thereon. 

Sec. 51. No law enacted by the General Assembly shall relate to 
more than one subject, and that shall be expressed in the title, and 
no law shall be revised, amended, or the provisions thereof extended 
or conferred by reference to its title only ; but so much thereof as is 
revised, amended, extended, or conferred shall be reenacted and 
published at length. 

Sec. 52. The General Assembly shall have no power to release, 
extinguish, or authorize the releasing or extinguishing, in whole or in 
part, the indebtedness or liability of any corporation or individual to 
this Commonwealth, or to any county or municipality thereof. 

Sec. 53. The General Assembly shall provide by law for monthly 
investigations into the accounts of the treasurer and auditor of public 
accounts, and the result of these investigations shall be reported to the 
governor, and these reports shall be semi-annually published in two 
newspapers of general circulation in the State. The reports received 
by the governor shall, at the beginning of each session, be transmitted 



viii CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. 

by him to the General Assembly for scrutiny and appropriate 
action. 

Sec. 54, The General Assembly shall have no power to limit the 
amount to be recovered for injuries resulting in death, or for injuries 
to person or property. 

Sec. 55. No act, except general appropriation bills, shall become a 
law until ninety days after the adjournment of the session at which it 
was passed, except in cases of emergency, when, by the concurrence 
of a majority of the members elected to each House of the General 
Assembly, by a yea and nay vote entered upon their journals, an act 
may become a law when approved by the governor ; but the reasons 
for the emergency that justifies this action must be set out at length 
in the journal of each House. 

Sec. 56. No bill shall become a law until the same shall have been 
signed by the presiding officer of each of the two Houses in open ses- 
sion , and before such officer shall have affixed his signature to any 
bill, he shall suspend all other business, declare that such bill will now 
be read, and that he will sign the same, to the end that it may become 
a law. The bill shall'then be read at length and compared ; and, if 
correctly enrolled, he shall, in presence of the House in open session, 
and before any other business is entertained, affix his signature, which 
fact shall be noted in the journal, and the bill immediately sent to 
the other House. "When it reaches the other House, the presiding 
officer thereof shall immediately suspend all other business, announce 
the reception of the bill, and the same proceeding shall thereupon be 
observed in every respect as in the House in which it was first signed. 
And thereupon the clerk of the latter House shall immediately pre- 
sent the same to the governor for his signature and approval. 

Sec. 57. A member who has a personal or private interest in any 
measure or bill proposed or pending before the General Assembly, 
shall disclose the fact to the House of which he is a member, and 
shall not vote thereon upon pain of expulsion. 

Sec. 58. The General Assembly shall neither audit nor allow any 
private claim against the Commonwealth, except for expenses incurred 
during the session at which the same was allowed, but may appropriate 
money to pay such claim as shall have been audited and allowed ac- 
cording to law. 

Local and Special Legislation. 

Sec. 59. The General Assembly shall not pass local or special acts 
concerning any of the following subjects, or for any of the following 
purposes : namely, — 

1. To regulate the jurisdiction, or the practice, or the circuits of 
courts of justice, or the rights, powers, duties, or compensation of the 
officers thereof ; but the practice in circuit courts in continuous ses- 
sion may, by a general law, be made different from the practice of 
circuit courts held in terms. 

2. To regulate the summoning, impaneling, or compensation of 
grand or petit jurors. 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. ix 

3. To provide for changes of venue in civil or criminal causes. 

4. To regulate the punishment of crimes and misdemeanors, or to 
remit fines, penalties, or forfeitures. 

5. To regulate the limitation of civil or criminal causes. 

6. To affect the estate of cestuis que trust, decedents, infants, or 
other persons under disabilities, or to authorize any such persons to 
sell, lease, encumber, or dispose of their property. 

7. To declare any person of age, or to relieve an infant or feme 
covert of disability, or to enable him to do acts allowed only to adults 
not under disabilities. 

8. To change the law of descent, distribution, or succession. 

9. To authorize the adoption or legitimation of children. 

10. To grant divorces. 

11. To change the name of persons. 

12. To give effect to invalid deeds, wills, or other instruments. 

13. To legalize, except as against the Commonwealth, the unau- 
thorized or invalid act of any officer or public agent of the Common- 
wealth, or of any city, county, or municipality thereof. 

14. To refund money legally paid into the State treasury. 

15. To authorize or to regulate the levy, the assessment, or the col- 
lection of taxes, or to give any indulgence or discharge to any assessor 
or collector of taxes, or to his sureties. 

16. To authorize the opening, altering, maintaining, or vacating 
roads, highways, streets, alleys, town plats, cemeteries, graveyards, or 
public grounds not owned by the Commonwealth. 

17. To grant a charter to any corporation, or to amend the charter 
of any existing corporation ; to license companies or persons to own 
or operate ferries, bridges, roads, or turnpikes ; to declare streams 
navigable, or to authorize the construction of booms or dams therein, 
or to remove obstructions therefrom ; to affect toll-gates or to regu- 
late tolls ; to regulate fencing or the running at large of stock. 

18. To create, increase, or decrease fees, percentages, or allow- 
ances to public officers, or to extend the time for the collection thereof, 
or to authorize officers to appoint deputies. 

19. To give any person or corporation the right to lay a railroad 
track or tramway, or to amend existing charters for such purposes. 

20. To provide for conducting elections, or for designating the 
places of voting, or changing the boundaries of wards, precincts, or 
districts, except when new counties may be created. 

21. To regulate the rate of interest. 

22. To authorize the creation, extension, enforcement, impair- 
ment, or release of liens. 

23. To provide for the protection of game and fish. 

24. To regulate labor, trade, mining, or manufacturing. 

25. To provide for the management of common schools. 

26. To locate or change a county seat. 

27. To provide a means of taking the sense of the people of any 
city, town, district, precinct, or county, whether they wish to author- 
ize, regulate or prohibit therein the sale of vinous, spirituous, or malt 
liquors, or alter the liquor laws. 



x CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. 

28. Restoring to citizenship persons convicted of infamous crimes. 

29. In all other cases where a general law can be made applica- 
ble, no special law shall be enacted. 

Sec. 60. 1 he General Assembly shall not indirectly enact any 
special or local act by the repeal in part of a general act, or by ex- 
empting from the operation of a general act any city, town, district, 
or county ; but laws repealing local or special acts may be enacted. 
No law shall be enacted granting powers or privileges in any case 
where the granting of such powers or privileges shall have been pro- 
vided for by a general law, nor where the courts have jurisdiction to 
grant the same or to give the relief asked for. No law, except such 
as relates to the sale, loan, or gift of vinous, spirituous, or malt 
liquors, bridges, turnpikes or other public roads, public buildings or 
improvements, fencing, running at large of stock, matters pertaining 
to common schools, paupers, and the regulation by counties, cities, 
towns, or other municipalities, of their local affairs, shall be enacted 
to take effect upon the approval of any other authority than the Gen- 
eral Assembly, unless otherwise expressly provided in this Constitu- 
tion. 

Sec. 61. The General Assembly shall by general law provide a 
means whereby the sense of the people of any county, city, town, dis- 
trict, or precinct may be taken, as to whether or not spirituous, vin- 
ous, or malt liquors shall be sold, bartered, or loaned therein, or the 
sale thereof regulated ; but nothing herein shall be construed to in- 
terfere with or to repeal any law in force relating to the sale or gift 
of such liquors. All elections on this question may be held on a day 
other than the regular election days. 

Sec. 62. The style of the laws of this Commonwealth shall be as 
follows: "Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Common- 
wealth of Kentucky." 

Counties and County Seats. 

Sec. 63. No new county shall be created by the General Assem- 
bly which will reduce the county or counties, or either of them, from 
which it shall be taken, to less area than four hundred square miles ; 
nor shall any county be formed of less area ; nor shall any boundary 
line thereof pass within less than ten miles of any county seat of the 
county or counties proposed to be divided. Nothing contained herein 
shall prevent the General Assembly from abolishing any county. 

Sec. 64. No county shah be divided, or have any part stricken 
therefrom, except in the formation of new counties, without submit- 
ting the question to a vote of the people of the county, nor unless the 
majority of all the legal voters of the county voting on the question 
shall vote for the same. The county seat of no county as now located, 
or as may hereafter be located, shall be moved, except upon a vote of 
two-thirds of those voting ; nor shall any new county be established 
which will reduce any county to less than twelve thousand inhabit- 
ants, nor shall any county be created containing a less population. 

Sec. 65. There shall be no territory stricken from any county un- 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. xi 

less a majority of the voters living in such territory shall petition for 
such division ; but the portion so stricken off and added to another 
county, or formed in whole or in pari; into a new county, shall be 
bound for its proportion of the indebtedness of the county from which 
it has been taken. 

Impeachments. 

Sec. 66. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power 
of impeachment. 

Sec. 67. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate. When 
sitting for that purpose, the senators shall be upon oath or affirmation. 
No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds 
of the senators present. 

Sec. 68. The governor and all civil officers shall be liable to im- 
peachment for any misdemeanors in office ; but judgment in such 
cases shall not extend further than removal from office, and disquali- 
fication to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under this Com- 
monwealth ; but the party convicted shall, nevertheless, be subject 
and liable to indictment, trial, and punishment bylaw. 

The Executive Department. 
Officers for the State at Large. 

Sec. 69. The supreme executive power of the Commonwealth 
shall be vested in a chief magistrate, who shall be styled the " Gov- 
ernor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky." 

Sec. 70. He shall be elected for the term of four years by the 
qualified voters of the State. The person having the highest number 
of votes shall be governor ; but if two or more shall be equal and 
highest in votes, the election shall be determined by lot in such man- 
ner as the General Assembly may direct. 

Sec. 71. He shall be ineligible for the succeeding four years after 
the expiration of the term for which he shall have been elected. 

Sec. 72. He shall be at least thirty years of age, and have been a 
citizen and a resident of Kentucky for at least six years next preced- 
ing his election. 

Sec. 73. He shall commence the execution of the duties of his 
office on the fifth Tuesday succeeding his election, and shall continue 
in the execution thereof until his successor shall have qualified. 

Sec. 74. He shall at stated times receive for his services a compen- 
sation to be fixed by law. 

Sec. 75. He shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of 
this Commonwealth, and of the militia thereof, except when they shall 
be called into the service of the United States ; but he shall not com- 
mand personally in the field, unless advised so to do by a resolution 
of the General Assembly. 

Sec. 76. He shall have the power, except as otherwise provided 
in this Constitution, to fill vacancies by granting commissions, which 



xii CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. 



shall expire when such vacancies shall have been filled according to 
the provisions of this Constitution. 

Sec. 77. He shall have power to remit fines and forfeitures, com- 
mute sentences, grant reprieves and pardons, except in case of 
impeachment ; and he shall file with each application therefor a state- 
ment of the reasons for his decision thereon, which application and 
statement shall always be open to public inspection. In cases of 
treason, he shall have power to grant reprieves until the end of the 
next session of the General Assembly, in which the power of par- 
doning shall be vested ; but he shall have no power to remit the fees 
of the clerk, sheriff, or Commonwealth's attorney in penal or criminal 
cases. 

Sec. 78. He may require information in writing from the officers 
of the Executive Department upon any subject relating to the duties 
of their respective offices. 

Sec. 79. He shall from time to time give to the General Assembly 
information of the state of the Commonwealth, and recommend to 
their consideration such measures as he may deem expedient. 

Sec. 80. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the General 
Assembly at the. seat of government, or at a different place, if that 
should have become dangerous from an enemy or from contagious 
diseases. In case of disagreement between the two Houses with re- 
spect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such 
time as he shall think proper, not exceeding four months. When 
he shall convene the General Assembly, it shall be by proclama- 
tion, stating the subjects to be considered, and no others shall be 
considered. 

Sec. 81. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. 

Sec. 82. A lieutenant-governor shall be chosen at every regular 
election for governor, in the same manner, to continue in office for 
the same time, and possess the same qualifications, as the governor. 
He shall be ineligible to the office of lieutenant-governor for the suc- 
ceeding four years after the expiration of the term for which he shall 
have been elected. 

Sec. 83. He shall, by virtue of his office, be president of the 
Senate, have a right, when in committee of the whole, to debate and 
vote on all subjects, and, when the Senate is equally divided, to give 
the casting vote. 

Sec. 84. Should the governor be impeached, and removed from 
office, die, refuse to qualify, resign, be absent from the State, or be 
from any cause unable to discharge the duties of his office, the lieu- 
tenant-governor shall exercise all the power and authority appertaining 
to the office of governor until another be duly elected and qualified, 
or the governor shall return or be able to discharge the duties of his 
office. On the trial of the governor, the lieutenant-governor shall 
not act as president of the Senate or take part in the proceedings, 
but the chief justice of the Court of Appeals shall preside during the 
trial. 

Sec. 85. A president pro tempore of the Senate shall be elected by 
each Senate as soon after its organization as possible, the lieutenant- 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. xiii 



governor vacating his seat as president of the Senate until such elec- 
tion shall be made ; and as often as there is a vacancy in the office of 
president pro tempore, another president pro tempore of the Senate 
shall be elected by the Senate, if in session. And if, during the 
vacancy of the office of governor, the lieutenant-governor shall be 
impeached, and removed from office, refuse to qualify, '-esign, die, or 
be absent from the State, the president pro tempore of the Senate 
shall in like manner administer the government : provided, whenever 
a vacancy shall occur in the office of governor before the first two 
years of the term shall have expired, a new election for governor 
shall take place to fill such vacancy. 

Sec. 86. The lieutenant-governor, or president pro tempore of the 
Senate, while he acts as president of the Senate, shall receive for his 
services the same compensation which shall, for the same period, be 
allowed for the speaker of the House of Representatives ; and during 
the time he administers the government as governor, he shall receive 
the same compensation which the governor would have received had 
he been employed in the duties of his office. 

Sec. 87. If the lieutenant-governor shall be called upon to admin- 
ister the government, and shall, while in such administration, resign, 
die, or be absent from the State during the recess of the General 
Assembly, if there be no president pro tempore of the Senate, it shall 
be the duty of the secretary of state for the time being to convene 
the Senate for the purpose of choosing a president; and until a presi- 
dent is chosen, the secretary of state shall administer the government. 
If there be no secretary of state to perform the duties devolved upon 
him by this section, or in case that officer be absent from the State, 
then the attorney-general for the time being shall convene the Sen- 
ate for the purpose of choosing a president, and shall administer the 
government until a president is chosen. 

Sec. 83. Every bill which shall have passed the two Houses shall 
be presented to the governor. If he approve, he shall sign it ; but if 
not, he shall return it, with his objections, to the House in which it 
originated, which shall enter the objections in full upon its journal, 
and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, a ma- 
jority of all the members elected to that House shall agree to pass 
the bill, it shall be sent, with the objections, to the other House, by 
which it shall likewise be considered, and, if approved by a majority of 
all the members elected to that House, it shall be a law ; but in such 
case the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, 
and the names of the members voting for and against the bill shall 
be entered upon the journal of each House respectively. If any bill 
shall not be returned by the governor within ten days (Sundays ex- 
cepted) after it shall have been presented to him, it shall be a law in 
like manner as if he had signed it, unless the General Assembly, by 
their adjournment, prevent its return, in which case it shall be a law, 
unless disapproved by him within ten days after the adjournment, in 
which case his veto message shall be spread upon the register kept 
by the secretary of state. The governor shall have power to disap- 
prove any part or parts of appropriation bills embracing distinct 



xiv CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. 



items, and the part or parts disapproved shall not become a law unless 
reconsidered and passed, as in case of a bill. 

Sec. 89. Every order, resolution, or vote in which the concurrence 
of both Houses may be necessary, except on a question of adjourn- 
ment, or as otherwise provided in this Constitution, shall be pre- 
sented to the governor, and, before it shall take effect, be approved 
by him, or, being disapproved, shall be repassed by a majority of the 
members elected to both Houses, according to the rules and limita- 
tions prescribed in case of a bill. 

Sec. 90. Contested elections for governor and lieutenant-governor 
shall be determined by both Houses of the General Assembly, accord- 
ing to such regulations as may be established by law. 

Sec. 91. A treasurer, auditor of public accounts, register of the 
land office, commissioner of agriculture, labor, and statistics, secretary 
of state, attorney-general, and superintendent of public instruction, 
shall be elected by the qualified voters of the State at the same time 
the governor is elected, for the term of four years, each of whom 
shall be at least thirty years of age at the time of his election, and 
shall have been a resident citizen of the State at least two years next 
before his election. The duties of all these officers shall be such as 
may be prescribed by law ; and the secretary of state shall keep a fair 
register of and attest all the official acts of the governor, and shall, 
when required, lay the same, and all papers, minutes, and vouchers 
relative thereto, before either House of the General Assembly. The 
officers named in this section shall enter upon the discharge of their 
duties the first Monday in January after their election, and shall hold 
their offices until their successors are elected and qualified. 

Sec. 92. The attorney-general shall have been a practicing lawyer 
eight years before his election. 

Sec. 93. The treasurer, auditor of public accounts, secretary of 
state, commissioner of agriculture, labor, and statistics, attorney-gen- 
eral, superintendent of public instruction, and register of the land 
office shall be ineligible to reelection for the succeeding four years 
after the expiration of the term for which they shall have been 
elected. The duties and responsibilities of these officers shall be pre- 
scribed by law, and all fees collected by any of said officers shall be 
covered into the treasury. Inferior State officers, not specifically 
provided for in this Constitution, may be appointed or elected, in 
such manner as may be prescribed by law, for a term not exceeding 
four years, and until their successors are appointed or elected and 
qualified. 

Sec. 94. The General Assembly may provide for the abolishment 
of the office of the register of the land office, to take effect at the 
end of any term, and shall provide by law for the custody and preser- 
vation of the papers and records of said office, if the same be 
abolished. 

Sec. 95. The election under this Constitution for governor, lieu- 
tenant-governor, treasurer, auditor of public accounts, register of the 
land office, attorney-general, secretary of state, superintendent of 
public instruction, and commissioner of agriculture, labor, and statis- 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. xv 



tics, shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in 
November, eighteen hundred and ninety- five, and the same day every 
four years thereafter. 

Sec. 96. All the officers mentioned in section ninety-five shall be 
paid for their services by salary, and not otherwise. 

Officers for Districts and Counties. 

Sec. 97. At the general election in eighteen hundred and ninety- 
t,vo there shall be elected in each circuit court district a Common- 
wealth's attorney, and in each county a clerk of the circuit court, who 
shall enter upon the discharge of the duties of their respective offices 
on the first Monday in January after their election, and shall hold 
their offices five years, and until their successors are elected and 
qualified. In the year eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, and every 
six years thereafter, there shall be an election in each county for a 
circuit court clerk, and for a Commonwealth's attorney in each circuit 
court district, unless that office be abolished, who shall hold their 
respective offices for six years from the first Monday in January after 
their election, and until the election and qualification of their suc- 
cessors. 

Sec. 98. The compensation of the Commonwealth's attorney shall 
be by salary and such percentage of fines and forfeitures as may be 
fixed by law, and such salary shall be uniform in so far as the same 
shall be paid out of the State treasury, and not to exceed the sum of 
five hundred dollars per annum ; but any county may make addi- 
tional compensation, to be paid by said county. Should any per- 
centage of fines and forfeitures be allowed by law, it shall not be paid 
except upon such proportion of the fines and forfeitures as have been 
collected and paid into the State treasury, and not until so collected 
and paid. 

Sec. 99. There shall be elected in eighteen hundred and ninety- 
four in each county a judge of the county court, a county court clerk. 
a county attorney, sheriff, jailer, coroner, surveyor, and assessor, and 
in each justice's district one justice of the peace and one constable, 
who shall enter upon the discharge of the duties of their offices on the 
first Monday in January after their election, and continue in office 
three years, and until the election and qualification of their succes 
sors ; and in eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, and every four years 
thereafter, there shall be an election in each county of the officers 
mentioned, who shall hold their offices four years (from the first 
Monday in January after their election), and until the election and 
qualification of their successors. The first election of sheriffs under 
this Constitution shall be held in eighteen hundred and ninety-two, 
and the sheriffs then elected shall hold their offices two years, and 
until the election and qualification of their successors. The sheriffs 
now in office for their first term shall be eligible to reelection in 
eighteen hundred and ninety-two, and those elected in eighteen hun- 
dred and ninety-two for the first term shall be eligible to reelection 
in eighteen hundred and ninety-four, but thereafter no sheriff shall 



xvi CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. 

be eligible to reelection or to act as deputy for the succeeding 
term. 

Sec. too. No person shall be eligible to the offices mentioned in 
sections ninety-seven and ninety-nine who is not at the time of his 
election twenty-four years of age (except clerks of county and circuit 
courts, who shall be twenty-one years of age), a citizen of Kentucky, 
and who has not resided in the State two years, and one year next 
preceding his election in the county and district in which he is a can- 
didate. No person shall be eligible to the office of Commonwealth's 
attorney unless he shall have been a licensed practicing lawyer four 
years. No person shall be eligible to the office of county attorney 
unless he shall have been a licensed practicing lawyer two years. No 
person shall be eligible to the office of clerk unless he shall have pro- 
cured from a judge of the Court of Appeals, or a judge of a circuit 
court, a certificate that he has been examined by the clerk of his 
court under his supervision, and that he is qualified for the office 
for which he is a candidate. 

Sec. ioi. Constables shall possess the same qualifications as sher- 
iffs, and their jurisdiction shall be coextensive with the counties in 
which they reside. Constables now in office shall continue in office 
until their successors are elected and qualified. 

Sec. 102. When a new county shall be created, officers for the 
same, to serve until the next regular election, shall be elected or 
appointed in such way and at such times as the General Assembly 
may prescribe. 

Sec. 103. The judges of county courts, clerks, sheriffs, surveyors, 
coroners, jailers, constables, and such other officers as the General 
Assembly may from time to time require, shall, before they enter 
upon the duties of their respective offices, and as often thereafter as 
may be deemed proper, give such bond and security as may be pre- 
scribed by law. 

Sec. 104. The General Assembly may abolish the office of assessor, 
and provide that the assessment of property shall be made by other 
officers ; but it shall have power to reestablish the office of assessor 
and prescribe his duties. No person shall be eligible to the office of 
assessor two consecutive terms. 

Sec. 105. The General Assembly may at any time consolidate the 
offices of jailer and sheriff in any county or counties, as it shall deem 
most expedient ; but, in the event such consolidation be made, the 
office of sheriff shall be retained, and the sheriff shall be required to 
perform the duties of jailer. 

Sec. 106. The fees of county officers shall be regulated by law. 
In counties or cities having a population of seventy-five thousand or 
more, the clerks of the respective courts thereof (except the clerk of 
the city court), the marshals, the sheriffs, and the jailers shall be 
paid out of the State treasury, by salary to be fixed by law, the 
salaries of said officers and of their deputies and necessary office 
expenses not to exceed seventy-five per centum of the fees collected 
by said officers respectively, and paid into the treasury. 

Sec. 107. The General Assembly may provide for the election or 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. xvii 



appointment, for a term not exceeding four years, of such other 
county or district ministerial and executive officers as may from time 
to time be necessary. 

Sec. 108. The General Assembly may, at any time after the expira- 
tion of six years from the adoption of this Constitution, abolish the 
office of Commonwealth's attorney, to take effect upon the expiration 
of the terms of the incumbents, in which event the duties of said 
office shall be discharged by the county attorneys. 

The Judicial Department. 

Sec. 109. The judicial power of the Commonwealth, both as to 
matters of law and equity, shall be vested in the Senate when sitting 
as a court of impeachment, and one Supreme Court (to be styled the 
Court of Appeals), and the courts established by this Constitution. 

Court of Appeals. 

Sec. 1 10. The Court of Appeals shall have appellate jurisdiction 
only, which shall be coextensive with the State, under such restric- 
tions and regulations, not repugnant to this Constitution, as may from 
time to time be prescribed by law. Said court shall have power to 
issue such writs as may be necessary to give it a general control of 
inferior jurisdictions. 

Sec. hi. The Court of Appeals shall be held at the seat of govern- 
ment ; but if that shall become dangerous, in case of war, insurrection, 
or pestilence, it may adjourn to meet and transact its business at such 
other place in the State as it may deem expedient for the time being. 

Sec. 112. The judges of the Court of Appeals shall severally hold 
their offices for the term of eight years, commencing on the first 
Monday in January next succeeding their respective elections, and 
until their several successors are qualified, subject to the conditions 
hereinafter prescribed. For any reasonable cause the governor shall 
remove them, or any one or more of them, on the address of two- 
thirds of each House of the General Assembly. The cause or causes 
for which said removal shall be required shall be stated at length in 
such address and in the journal of each House. They shall at stated 
times receive for their services an adequate compensation, to be fixed 
by law. 

Sec. 113. The Court of Appeals shall, after eighteen hundred and 
ninety-four, consist of not less than five nor more than seven judges. 
They shall severally, by virtue of their office, be conservators of the 
peace throughout the State, and shall be commissioned by the governor. 

Sec. 114. No person shall be eligible to election as a judge of the 
Court of Appeals who is not a citizen of Kentucky, and has not 
resided in this State five years, and in the district in which he is 
elected two years, next preceding his election, and who is less than 
thirty-five years of age, and has not been a practicing lawyer eight 
years, or whose services upon the bench of a circuit court or court of 



xviii CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. 

similar jurisdiction, when added to the time he may have practiced 
law, shall not be equal to eight years. 

Sec. 115. The present judges of the Court of Appeals shall hold 
their offices until their respective terms expire, and until their several 
successors shall be qualified ; and at the regular election next pre- 
ceding the expiration of the term of each of the present judges, his 
successor shall be elected. The General Assembly shall, before the 
regular election in eighteen hundred and ninety-four, provide for the 
election of such judges of the Court of Appeals, not less than five nor 
exceeding seven, as may be necessary ; and if less than seven judges 
be provided for, the General Assembly may at any time increase the 
number to seven. 

Sec. 116. The judges of the Court of Appeals shall be elected by 
districts. The General Assembly shall, before the regular election in 
eighteen hundred and ninety-four, divide the State, by counties, into 
as many districts, as nearly equal in population and as compact in 
form as possible, as it may provide shall be the number of judges of 
the Court of Appeals ; and it may, every ten years thereafter, or when 
the number of judges requires it, redistrict the State in like manner. 
Upon the creation of new or additional districts, the General Assem- 
bly shall designate the year in which the first election for a judge of 
the Court of Appeals shall be held in each district, so that not more 
than the number of judges provided for shall be elected, and that no 
judge may be deprived of his office until the expiration of the term 
for which he was elected. 

Sec. 117. A majority of the judges of the Court of Appeals shall 
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but in the event 
as many as two decline, on account of interest or for other reason, to 
preside in the trial of any cause, the governor, on that fact being cer- 
tified to him by the chief justice, shall appoint to try the particular 
cause a sufficient number of judges to constitute a full court. The 
judges so appointed shall possess the qualifications prescribed for 
judges of the Court of Appeals, and receive the same compensation, 
proportioned to the length of service. 

Sec. 118. The judge longest in commission as judge of the Court 
of Appeals shall be chief justice, and if the term of service of two or 
more judges be the same, they shall determine by lot which of their 
number shall be chief justice. The court shall prescribe by rule that 
petitions for rehearing shall be considered by a judge who did not 
deliver the opinion in the case ; and the court, if composed of seven 
judges, shall divide itself into sections for the transaction of business, 
if, in the judgment of the court, such arrangement is necessary. 

Sec. 119. The Superior Court shall continue until the terms of the 
present judges of said court expire ; and upon the expiration of their 
terms, all causes pending before the Superior Court shall be trans- 
ferred to the Court of Appeals, and be determined by it. 

Sec. 120. The present clerk of the Court of Appeals shall serve 
until the expiration of the term for which he was elected, and until 
his successor is elected and qualified. At the election in the year 
eighteen hundred and ninety-seven there shall be elected by the 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. xix 

qualified voters of the State a clerk of the Court of Appeals, who shall 
take his office the first Monday in September, eighteen hundred 
and ninety-eight, and who shall hold his office until the regular 
election in nineteen hundred and three, and until his successor shall 
be elected and qualified. In nineteen hundred and three, and there- 
after, the clerk of the Court of Appeals shall be elected at the same 
time as the governor, for the term of four years ; and the said clerk 
shall take his office on the first Monday in January following his 
election, and shall hold his office until his successor is elected and 
qualified. The clerk shall be ineligible for the succeeding term. 

Sec. 121. No person shall be eligible to the office of clerk of the 
Court of Appeals unless he is a citizen of Kentucky, a resident 
thereof for two years next preceding his election, of the age of twenty- 
one years, and have a certificate from a judge of the Court of Appeals 
that he has been examined by him, or by the clerk of his court under 
his supervision, and that he is qualified for the office. 

Sec. 122. Should a vacancy occur in the office of the clerk of the 
Com-t of Appeals, or should the clerk be under charges, the Court of 
Appeals shall have power to appoint a clerk until the vacancy be 
filled as provided in this Constitution, or until the clerk be acquitted. 

Sec. 123. The style of process shall be "The Commonwealth of 
Kentucky." All prosecutions shall be carried on in the name and by 
the authority of the "Commonwealth of Kentucky," and conclude 
against the peace and dignity of the same. 

Sec. 124. The clerks of the Court of Appeals, circuit and county 
courts, shall be removable from office by the Court of Appeals, upon 
information and good cause shown. The court shall be judge of the 
facts as well as the law. Two-thirds of the members present must 
concur in the sentence. 

Circuit Courts. 

Sec. 125. A circuit court shall be established in each county now 
existing, or which may hereafter be created, in this Commonwealth. 

Sec. 126. The jurisdiction of said court shall be and remain as 
now established, hereby giving to the General Assembly the power to 
change it. 

Sec. 127. The right to appeal or sue out a writ of error shall re- 
main as it now exists until altered by law, hereby giving to the Gen- 
eral Assembly the power to change or modify said right. 

Sec. 128. At its first session after the adoption of this Constitution, 
the General Assembly, having due regard to territory, business, and 
population, shall divide the State into a sufficient number of judicial 
districts to carry into effect the provisions of this Constitution con- 
cerning circuit courts. In making such apportionment, no county shall 
be divided ; and the number of said districts, excluding those in coun- 
ties having a population of one hundred and fifty thousand, shall not 
exceed one district for each sixty thousand of the population of the 
entire State. 

Sec. 129. The General Assembly shall, at the same time the judi- 



xx CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. 

cial districts are laid off, direct elections to be held in each district to 
elect a judge therein. The first election of judges of the circuit courts 
under this Constitution shall take place at the annual election in the 
year eighteen hundred and ninety-two, and the judges then elected 
shall enter upon the discharge of the duties of their respective offices 
on the first Monday in January after their election, and hold their 
offices five years, and until their successors are elected and qualified. 
At the general election in eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, and 
every six years thereafter, there shall be an election for judges of the 
circuit courts, who shall hold their offices for six years from the first 
Monday in January succeeding their election. They shall be com- 
missioned by the governor, and continue in office until their successors 
shall have been qualified, but shall be removable in the same manner 
as the judges of the Court of Appeals. The removal of a judge from 
his district shall vacate his office. 

Sec. 130. No person shall be eligible as judge of the circuit court 
who is less than thirty-five years of age when elected, who is not a 
citizen of Kentucky, and a resident of the district in which he may be 
a candidate two years next preceding his election, and who has not 
been a practicing lawyer eight years. 

Sec. 131. There shall be at least three regular terms of circuit court 
held in each county every year. 

Sec. 132. The General Assembly, when deemed necessary, may 
establish additional districts ; but the whole number of districts, ex- 
clusive of counties having a population of one hundred and fifty thou- 
sand, shall not exceed at any time one for every sixty thousand of 
population of the State according to the last enumeration. 

Sec. 133. The judges of the circuit court shall at stated times 
receive for their services an adequate compensation to be fixed by law, 
which shall be equal and uniform throughout the State, so far as the 
same shall be paid out of the State treasury. 

Sec. 134. The judicial districts of the State shall not be changed 
except at the first session after an enumeration, unless upon the estab- 
lishment of a new district. 

Sec. 135. No courts save those provided for in this Constitution 
shall be established. 

Sec. 136. The General Assembly shall provide by law for holding 
circuit courts, when from any cause the judge shall fail to attend, or, 
if in attendance, cannot properly preside. 

Sec. 137. Each county having a population of one hundred and 
fifty thousand, or over, shall constitute a district, which shall be en- 
titled to four judges. Additional judges for said district may from 
time to time be authorized by the General Assembly, but not to exceed 
one judge for each increase of forty thousand of population in said 
county, to be ascertained by the last enumeration. Each of the judges 
in such a district shall hold a separate court, except when a general 
term may be held for the purpose of making rules of court, or as may 
be required by law : provided no general term shall have power to re- 
view any order, decision, or proceeding of any branch of the court in 
said district made in separate term. There shall be one clerk for 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. xxi 



such district, who shall be known as the clerk of the circuit court. 
Criminal causes shall be under the exclusive jurisdiction of some one 
branch of said court ; and all other litigation in said district, of which 
the circuit court may have jurisdiction, shall be distributed as equally 
as may be between the other branches thereof, in accordance with the 
rules of the court made in general term or as may be prescribed by 
law. 

Sec. 138. Each county having a city of twenty thousand inhabit- 
ants, and a population, including said city, of forty thousand or more, 
may constitute a district ; and when its population reaches seventy-five 
thousand, the General Assembly may provide that it shall have an 
additional judge, and such district may have a judge for each addi- 
tional fifty thousand population above one hundred thousand. And 
in such counties the General Assembly shall by proper laws direct in 
what manner the court shall be held and the business therein con- 
ducted. 

Quarterly Courts. 

Sec. 139. There shall be established in each county now existing, 
or which may be hereafter created, in this State, a court, to be styled 
the " quarterly court," the jurisdiction of which shall be uniform 
throughout the State, and shall be regulated by a general law, and, 
until changed, shall be the same as that now vested by law in the 
quarterly courts of this Commonwealth. The judges of the county 
court shall be the judges of the quarterly courts. 

County Courts. 

Sec. 140. There shall be established in each county now existing, 
or which may be hereafter created, in this State, a court, to be styled 
the " county court," to consist of a judge, who shall be a conservator 
of the peace, and shall receive such compensation for his services as 
may be prescribed by law. He shall be commissioned by the gover- 
nor, and shall vacate his office by removal from the county in which 
he may have been elected. 

1 Sec. 141. The jurisdiction of the county court shall be uniform 
(throughout the State, and shall be regulated by general law, and, until 
changed, shall be the same as now vested in the county courts of this 
State by law. 

Justices' Courts. 

Sec. 142. Each county now existing, or which may hereafter be 
created, in this State, shall be laid off into districts in such manner as 
\\\t General Assembly may direct ; but no county shall have less than 
three nor more than eight districts, in each of which districts one jus- 
tice of the peace shall be elected as provided in section ninety-nine. 
The General Assembly shall make provisions for regulating the num- 
ber of said districts from time to time within the limits herein pre- 
scribed, and for fixing the boundaries thereof. The jurisdiction of 



xxii CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. 



justices of the peace shall be coextensive with the county, and shall 
be equal and uniform throughout the State. Justices of the peace 
shall be conservators of the peace. They shall be commissioned by 
the governor, and shall vacate their offices by removal from the dis- 
tricts, respectively, in which they may have been elected. 



Police Courts. 

Sec. 143. A police court may be established in each city and town 
in this State, with jurisdiction in cases of violation of municipal ordi- 
nances and by-laws occurring within the corporate limits of the city or 
town in which it is established, and such criminal jurisdiction within 
the said limits as justices of the peace have. The said courts may be 
authorized to act as examining courts, but shall have no civil jurisdic- 
tion : provided, the General Assembly may confer civil jurisdiction on 
police courts in cities and towns of the fourth and fifth classes and in 
towns of the sixth class having a population of two hundred and fifty 
or more, which jurisdiction shall be uniform throughout the State, 
and not exceed that of justices of the peace. 

Fiscal Courts. 

Sec. 144. Counties shall have a fiscal court, which may consist of 
the judge of the county court and the justices of the peace, in which 
court the judge of the county court shall preside, if present ; or a 
county may have three commissioners, to be elected from the county 
at large, who, together with the judge of the county court, shall con- 
stitute the fiscal court. A majority of the members of said court shall 
constitute a court for the transaction of business ; but where, for 
county governmental purposes, a city is by law separated from the 
remainder of the county, such commissioners may be elected from the 
part of the county outside of such city. 

Suffrage and Elections. 

Sec. 145. Every male citizen of the United States of the age of 
twenty-one years, who has resided in the State one year, and in the 
county six months, and in the precinct in which he offers to vote sixty 
days, next preceding the election, shall be a voter in said precinct, and 
not elsewhere ; but the following persons are excepted, and shall not 
have the right to vote : — 

1. Persons convicted, in any court of competent jurisdiction, of trea- 
son, or felony, or bribery in an election, or of such high misdemeanor 
as the General Assembly may declare shall operate as an exclusion 
from the right of suffrage ; but persons hereby excluded may be re- 
stored to their civil rights by Executive pardon. 

2. Persons who, at the time of the election, are in confinement 
under the judgment of a court for some penal offense. 

3. Idiots and insane persons. 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. xxiii 

Sec. 146. No person in the military, naval, or marine service of 
the United States shall be deemed a resident of this State by reason of 
being stationed within the same. 

Sec. 147. The General Assembly shall provide by law for the regis- 
tration of all persons entitled to vote in cities and towns having a 
population of five thousand or more, and may provide by general law 
for the registration of other voters in the State. Where registration 
is required, only persons registered shall have the right to vote. The 
mode of registration shall be prescribed by the General Assembly. 
In all elections by persons in a representative capacity, the voting 
shall be viva voce, and made a matter of record ; but all elections by 
the people shall be by secret official ballot, furnished by public author- 
ity to the voters at the polls, and marked by each voter in private at 
the polls, and then and there deposited. The word " elections " in 
this section includes the decision of questions submitted to the voters, 
as well as the choice of officers by them. The first General Assembly 
held after the adoption of this Constitution shall pass all necessary 
laws to enforce this provision, and shall provide that persons illiter- 
ate, blind, or in any way disabled, may have their ballots marked as 
herein required. 

Sec. 148. Not more than one election each year shall be held in 
this State or in any city, town, district, or county thereof, except as 
otherwise provided in this Constitution. All elections of State. 
county, city, town, or district officers shall be held on the first Tues- 
day after the first Monday in November ; but no officer of any city, 
town, or county, or of any subdivision thereof, except members of 
municipal legislative boards, shall be elected in the same year in 
which members of the House of Representatives of the United States 
are elected. District or State officers, including members of the Gen- 
eral Assembly, may be elected in the same year in which members of 
the House of Representatives of the United States are elected. All 
elections by the people shall be between the hours of six o'clock a.m. 
and seven o'clock p.m.. but the General Assembly may change said 
hours, and all officers of any election shall be residents and voters in 
the precinct in which they act. The General Assembly shall provide 
by law that all employers shall allow employees, under reasonable regu- 
lations, at least four hours on election days, in which to cast their votes. 

Sec. 149. Voters, in all cases except treason, felony, breach or 
surety of the peace, or violation of the election laws, shall be privi- 
leged from arrest during their attendance at elections, and while they 
are going to and returning therefrom. 

Sec. 150. Even' person shall be disqualified from holding any office 
of trust or profit for the term for which he shall have been elected, 
who shall be convicted of having given, or consented to the giving, 
offer, or promise of. any money or other thing of value, to procure 
his election, or to influence the vote of any voter 'at such election ; 
and if any corporation shall, directly or indirectly, offer, promise, or 
give, or shall authorize, directly or indirectly, any person to offer, 
promise, or give, any money or any thing of value to influence the 
result of any election in this State, or the vote of any voter authorized 



xxiv CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. 

to vote therein, or who shall afterward reimburse or compensate, in 
any manner whatever, any person who shall have offered, promised, 
or given any money or other thing of value to influence the result of 
any election or the vote of any such voter, such corporation, if organ- 
ized under the laws of this Commonwealth, shall, on conviction there- 
of, forfeit its charter and all rights, privileges, and immunities there- 
under ; and if chartered by another State, and doing business in this 
State, whether by license or upon mere sufferance, such corporation, 
upon conviction of either of the offenses aforesaid, shall forfeit all 
right to carry on any business in this State : and it shall be the duty 
of the General Assembly to provide for the enforcement of the pro- 
visions of this section. All persons shall be excluded from office who 
have been, or shall hereafter be, convicted of a felony, or of such high 
misdemeanor as may be prescribed by law ; but such disability may 
be removed by pardon of the governor. The privilege of free suf- 
frage shall be supported by laws regulating elections, and prohibiting, 
under adequate penalties, all undue influence thereon, from power, 
bribery, tumult, or other improper practices. 

Sec. 151. The General Assembly shall provide suitable means for 
depriving of office any person who, to procure his nomination or elec- 
tion, has, in his canvass or election, been guilty of any unlawful use 
of money, or other thing of value, or has been guilty of fraud, intimi- 
dation, bribery, or any other corrupt practice ; and he shall be held 
responsible for acts done by others with his authority, or ratified by 
him. 

Sec. 152. Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, vacan- 
cies in all elective offices shall be filled by election or appointment, as 
follows : if the unexpired term will end at the next succeeding 
annual election at which either city, 'town, county, district, or State 
officers are to be elected, the office shall be filled by appointment for 
the remainder of the term ; if the unexpired term will not end at the 
next succeeding annual election at which either city, town, county, 
district, or State officers are to be elected, and if three months inter- 
vene before said succeeding annual election at which either city, town, 
county, district, or State officers are to be elected, the office shall be 
filled by appointment until said election, and then said vacancy shall 
be filled by election for the remainder of the term ; if three months 
do not intervene between the happening of said vacancy and the next 
succeeding election at which city, town, county, district, or State 
officers are to be elected, the office shall be filled by appointment 
until the second succeeding annual election at which city, town, 
county, district, or State officers are to be elected ; and then, if any 
part of the term remains unexpired, the office shall be filled by elec- 
tion until the regular time for the election of officers to fill said offices. 
Vacancies in all offices for the State at large, or for districts larger 
than a county, shall be filled by appointment of the governor : all 
other appointments shall be made as may be prescribed by law. No 
person shall ever be appointed a member of the General Assembly, 
but vacancies therein may be filled at a special election, in such man- 
ner as may be provided by law. 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. xxv 



Sec. 153. Except as otherwise herein expressly provided, the Gen- 
eral Assembly shall have power to provide by general law for the 
manner of voting, for ascertaining the result of elections and making 
due returns thereof, for issuing certificates or commissions to all per- 
sons entitled thereto, and for the trial of contested elections. 

Sec. 154. The General Assembly shall prescribe such laws as may 
be necessary for the restriction or prohibition of the sale or gift of 
spirituous, vinous, or malt liquors on election days. 

Sec. 155. The provisions of sections one hundred and forty-five to 
one hundred and fifty-four, inclusive, shall not apply to the election 
of school trustees and other common school district elections. Said 
elections shall be regulated by the General Assembly, except as other- 
wise provided in this Constitution. 

Municipalities. 

Sec. 156. The cities and towns of this Commonwealth, for the 
purposes of their organization and government, shall be divided into 
six classes. The organization and powers of each class shall be 
defined and provided for by general laws, so that all municipal cor- 
porations of the same class shall possess the same powers, and be 
subject to the same restrictions. To the first class shall belong cities 
with a population of one hundred thousand or more ; to the second 
class, cities with a population of twenty thousand or more, and less 
than one hundred thousand ; to the third class, cities with a popula- 
tion of eight thousand or more, and less than twenty thousand ; to 
the fourth class, cities and towns with a population of three thou- 
sand or more, and less than eight thousand ; to the fifth class, cities 
and towns with a population of one thousand or more, and less than 
three thousand ; to the sixth class, towns with a population of less 
than one thousand. The General Assembly shall assign the cities 
and towns of the Commonwealth to the classes to which they respec- 
tively belong, and change assignments made as the population of 
said cities and towns may increase or decrease, and, in the absence of 
other satisfactory information as to their population, shall be gov- 
erned by the last preceding Federal census in so doing ; but no city 
or town shall be transferred from one class to another, except in pur- 
suance of a law previously enacted and providing therefor. The 
General Assembly, by a general law, shall provide how towns may be 
organized, and enact laws for the government of such towns until the 
same are assigned to one or the other of the classes above named ; 
but such assignment shall be made at the first session of the General 
Assembly after th'e organization of said town or city. 

Sec. 157. The tax rate of cities, towns, counties, taxing districts, 
and other municipalities, for other than school purposes, shall not at 
any time exceed the following rates upon the value of the taxable 
property therein : viz., for all towns or cities having a population of 
fifteen thousand or more, one dollar and fifty cents on the hundred 
dollars ; for all towns or cities having less than fifteen thousand and 
not less than ten thousand, one dollar on the hundred dollars ; for all 



xxvi CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY, 

towns or cities having less than ten thousand, seventy-five cents on 
the hundred dollars ; and for counties and taxing districts, fifty cents 
on the hundred dollars ; unless it should be necessary to enable such 
city, town, county, or taxing district to pay the interest on, and pro- 
vide a sinking fund for the extinction of, indebtedness contracted 
before the adoption of this Constitution. No county, city, town, tax- 
ing district, or other municipality shall be authorized or permitted to 
become indebted, in any manner or for any purpose, to an amount 
exceeding, in any year, the income and revenue provided for such 
year, without the assent of two-thirds of the voters thereof, voting at 
an election to be held for that purpose ; and any indebtedness con- 
tracted in violation of this section shall be void. Nor shall such con- 
tract be enforceable by the person with whom made ; nor shall such 
municipality ever be authorized to assume the same. 

Sec. 158. The respective cities, towns, counties, taxing districts, 
and municipalities shall not be authorized or permitted to incur in- 
debtedness to an amount, including existing indebtedness, in the 
aggregate exceeding the following-named maximum percentages on 
the value of the taxable property therein, to be estimated by the as- 
sessment next before the last assessment previous to the incurring of 
the indebtedness: viz., cities of the first and second classes, and of 
the third class having a population exceeding fifteen thousand, ten per 
centum ; cities of the third class having a population of less than fifteen 
thousand, and cities and towns of the fourth class, five per centum ; 
cities and towns of the fifth and sixth classes, three per centum ; and 
counties, taxing districts, and other municipalities, two per centum : 
provided any city, town, county, taxing district, or other municipality 
may contract an indebtedness in excess of such limitations, when the 
same has been authorized under laws in force prior to the adoption of 
this Constitution, or when necessary for the completion of and pay- 
ment for a public improvement undertaken and not completed and 
paid for at the time of the adoption of this Constitution ; and provided, 
further, if, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, the 
aggregate indebtedness, bonded or floating, of any city, town, county, 
taxing district, or other municipality, including that which it has been 
or may be authorized to contract as herein provided, shall exceed the 
limit herein prescribed, then no such city or town shall be authorized 
or permitted to increase its indebtedness in an amount exceeding two 
per centum, and no such county, taxing district, or other municipality, 
in an amount exceeding one per centum, in the aggregate upon the 
value of the taxable property therein, to be ascertained as herein pro- 
vided, until the aggregate of its indebtedness shall have been reduced 
below the limit herein fixed ; and thereafter it shall not exceed the 
limit, unless in case of emergency the public health or safety should 
so require. Nothing herein shall prevent the issue of renewal bonds, 
or bonds to fund the floating indebtedness of any city, town, county, 
taxing district, or other municipality. 

Sec. 159. Whenever any county, city, town, taxing district, or other 
municipality is authorized to contract an indebtedness, it shall be re- 
quired at the same time to provide for the collection of an annual tax 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. xxvii 



sufficient to pay the interest on said indebtedness, and to create a 
sinking fund for the payment of the principal thereof, within not 
more than forty years from the time of contracting the same. 

Sec. 160. The mayor or chief executive, police judges, members of 
legislative boards or councils of towns and cities, shall be elected by 
the qualified voters thereof : provided the mayor or chief executive 
and police judges of the towns of the fourth, fifth, and sixth classes 
may be appointed or elected as provided by law. The terms of office 
of mayors or chief executives and police judges shall be four years, and 
until their successors shall be qualified ; and of members of legisla- 
tive boards, two years. When any city of the first or second class is 
divided into wards or districts, members of legislative boards shall be 
elected at large by the qualified voters of said city, but so selected 
that an equal proportion thereof shall reside in each of the said wards 
or districts ; but when in any city of the first, second, or third class, 
there are two legislative boards, the less numerous shall be selected 
from and elected by the voters at large of said city ; but other officers 
of towns or cities shall be elected by the qualified voters therein, or 
appointed by the local authorities thereof, as the General Assembly 
may, by a general law, provide ; but when elected by the voters of a 
town or city, their terms of office shall be four years, and until their 
successors shall be qualified. No mayor or chief executive or fiscal 
officer of any city of the first or second class, after the expiration of 
the term of office to which he has been elected under this Constitution, 
shall be eligible for the succeeding term. "Fiscal officer" shall not 
include an auditor or assessor, or any other officer whose chief duty is 
not the collection or holding of public moneys. The General Assem- 
bly shall prescribe the qualifications of all officers of towns and cities, 
the manner in and causes for which they may be removed from office, 
and how vacancies in such offices may be filled. 

Sec. 161. The compensation of any city, county, town, or munici- 
pal officer shall not be changed after his election or appointment, or 
during his term of office ; nor shall the term of any such officer be 
extended beyond the period for which he may have been elected or 
appointed. 

Sec. 162. No county, city, town, or other municipality shall ever 
be authorized or permitted to pay any claim created against it. under 
any agreement or contract made without express authority of law, 
and all such unauthorized agreements or contracts shall be null and 
void. 

Sec. 163. No street railway, gas, water, steam-heating, telephone, 
or electric-light company, within a city or town, shall be permitted 
or authorized to construct its tracks, lay its pipes or mains, or erect 
its poles, posts, or other apparatus along, over, under, or across the 
streets, alleys, or public grounds of a city or town, without the con- 
sent of the proper legislative bodies or boards of such city or town 
being first obtained ; but when charters have been heretofore granted 
conferring such rights, and work has in good faith been begun there- 
under, the provisions of this section shall not apply. 

Sec. 164. No county, city, town, taxing district, or other munici- 



xxviii CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. 

pality shall be authorized or permitted to grant any franchise or privi- 
lege, or make any contract in reference thereto, for a term exceeding 
twenty years. Before granting such franchise or privilege for a term 
of years, such municipality shall first, after due advertisement, re- 
ceive bids therefor publicly, and award the same to the highest and 
best bidder ; but it shall have the right to reject any or all bids. 
This section shall not apply to a trunk railway. 

Sec. 165. No person shall at the same time be a State officer or 
a deputy officer, or member of the General Assembly, and an officer 
of any county, city, town, or other municipality, or an employee 
thereof; and no person shall at the same time fill two municipal offices, 
either in the same or different municipalities, except as may be other- 
wise provided in this Constitution; but a notary public, or an officer of 
the militia, shall not be ineligible to hold any other office mentioned 
in this section. 

Sec. 166. All acts of incorporation of cities and towns heretofore 
granted, and all amendments thereto, except as provided in section 
one hundred and sixty-seven, shall continue in force under this Con- 
stitution ; and all city and police courts established in any city or 
town shall remain, with their present powers and jurisdictions, until 
such time as the General Assembly shall provide by general laws for 
the government of towns and cities, and the officers and courts there- 
of, but not longer than four years from and after the first day of 
January, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-one, within which 
time the General Assembly shall provide by general laws for the gov- 
ernment of towns and cities, and the officers and courts thereof, as 
provided in this Constitution. 

Sec. 167. All city and town officers in this State shall be elected 
or appointed as provided in the charter of each respective town and 
city, until the general election in November, 1893, and until their 
successors shall be elected and qualified, at which time the terms of 
all such officers shall expire ; and at that election, and thereafter as 
their terms of office may expire, all officers required to be elected in 
cities and towns by this Constitution, or by general laws enacted 
in conformity to its provisions, shall be elected at the general elec- 
tions in November, but only in the odd years, except members of 
municipal legislative boards, who may be elected either in the even 
or odd years, or parfin the even and part in the odd years : provided 
that the terms of office of police judges who were elected for four 
years at the August election, eighteen hundred and ninety, shall 
expire August thirty-first, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, and the 
terms of police judges elected in November, eighteen hundred and 
ninety-three, shall begin September first, eighteen hundred and 
ninety-four, and continue until the November election, eighteen 
hundred and ninety-seven, and until their successors are elected and 
qualified. 

Sec. 168. No municipal ordinance shall fix a penalty for a violation 
thereof at less than that imposed by statute for the same offense. A 
conviction or acquittal under either shall constitute a bar to another 
prosecution for the same offense. 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. xxix 



Revenue and Taxation. 

Sec. 169. The fiscal year shall commence on the first day of July 
in each year, unless otherwise provided by law. 

Sec. 170. There shall be exempt from taxation public property used 
for public purposes ; places actually used for religious worship, with 
the grounds attached thereto and used, and appurtenant to the house 
of worship, not exceeding one-half acre in cities or towns, and not 
exceeding two acres in the country; places of burial not held for 
private or corporate profit, institutions of purely public charity, and 
institutions of education not used or employed for gain by any per- 
son or corporation, and the income of which is devoted solely to the 
cause of education ; public libraries, their endowments, and the in- 
come of such property as is used exclusively for their maintenance ; 
all parsonages or residences owned by any religious society, and occu- 
pied as a home, and for no other purpose, by the minister of any 
religion, with not exceeding one-half acre of ground in towns and 
cities, and two acres of ground in the. country, appurtenant thereto ; 
household goods and other personal property of a person with a fam- 
ily, not exceeding two hundred and fifty dollars in value ; crops grown 
in the year in which the assessment is made, and in the hands of the 
producer ; and all laws exempting or commuting property from taxa- 
tion other than the property above mentioned shall be void. The 
General Assembly may authorize any incorporated city or town to 
exempt manufacturing establishments from municipal taxation, 
for a period not exceeding five years, as an inducement to their 
location. 

Sec. 171. The General Assembly shall provide by law an annual 
tax, which, with other resources, shall be sufficient to defray the esti- 
mated expenses of the Commonwealth for each fiscal year. Taxes 
shall be levied and collected for public purposes only. They shall 
be uniform upon all property subject to taxation within the territorial 
limits of the authority levying the tax ; and all taxes shall be levied 
and collected by general laws. 

Sec. 172. All property not exempted from taxation by this 
Constitution shall be assessed for taxation at its fair cash value, 
estimated at the price it would bring at a fair voluntary sale ; and 
any officer, or other person authorized to assess values for taxation, 
who shall commit any willful error in the performance of his duty, 
shall be deemed guilty of misfeasance, and upon conviction thereof 
shall forfeit his office, and be otherwise punished as may be provided 
by law. 

Sec. 173. The receiving, directly or indirectly, by any officer of 
the Commonwealth, or of any county, city, or town, or member or 
officer of the General Assembly, of any interest, profit, or perquisites 
arising from the use or loan of public funds in his hands, or moneys 
to be raised through his agency for State, city, town, district, or 
county purposes, shall be deemed a felony. Said offense shall be 
punished as may be prescribed by law, a part of which punishment 
shall be disqualification to hold office. 



xxx CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. 

Sec. 174. All property, whether owned by natural persons or 
corporations, shall be taxed in proportion to its value, unless ex- 
empted by this Constitution ; and all corporate property shall pay 
the same rate of taxation paid by individual property. Nothing in 
this Constitution shall be construed to prevent the General Assem- 
bly from providing for taxation based on income, licenses, or fran- 
chises. 

Sec. 175. The power to tax property shall not be surrendered or 
suspended by any contract or grant to which the Commonwealth 
shall be a party. 

Sec. 176. The Commonwealth shall not assume the debt of any 
county, municipal corporation, or political subdivision of the State, 
unless such debt shall have been contracted to defend itself in time 
of war, to repel invasion, or to suppress insurrection. 

Sec. 177. The credit of the Commonwealth shall not be given, 
pledged, or loaned to any individual, company, corporation, or asso- 
ciation, municipality, or political subdivision of the State, nor shall 
the Commonwealth become an owner or stockholder in, nor make 
donation to, any company, association, or corporation; nor shall the 
Commonwealth construct a railroad or other highway. (See p. 284.) 

Sec. 178. All laws authorizing the borrowing of money by and on 
behalf of the Commonwealth, county, or other political subdivision 
of the State, shall specify the purpose for which the money is to 
be used, and the money so borrowed shall be used for no other 
purpose. 

Sec. 179. The General Assembly shall not authorize any county 
or subdivision thereof, city, town, or incorporated district, to become 
a stockholder in any company, association, or corporation, or to 
obtain or appropriate money for, or to loan its credit to, any corpora: 
tion, association, or individual, except for the purpose of construct- 
ing or maintaining bridges, turnpike roads, or gravel roads : provided, 
if any municipal corporation shall offer to the Commonwealth any 
property or money for locating or building a Capitol, and the Com- 
monwealth accepts such offer, the corporation may comply with the 
offer. 

Sec. 180. The General Assembly may authorize the counties, 
cities, or towns to levy a poll-tax not exceeding one dollar and fifty 
cents per head. Every act enacted by the General Assembly, and 
every ordinance and resolution passed by any county, city, town, or 
municipal board or local legislative body, levying a tax, shall specify 
distinctly the purpose for which said tax is levied; and no tax 
levied and collected for one purpose shall ever be devoted to another 
purpose. 

Sec. 181. The General Assembly shall not impose taxes for the 
purposes of any county, city, town, or other municipal corporation 
but may by general laws confer on the proper authorities thereof, 
respectively, the power to assess and collect such taxes. The Gen- 
eral Assembly may, by general laws only, provide for the payment of 
license fees on franchises, stock used for breeding purposes, the vari- 
ous trades, occupations, and professions, or a special or excise tax, 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. xxxi 

and may by general laws delegate the power to counties, towns, 
cities, and other municipal corporations, to impose and collect license 
fees on stock used for breeding purposes, on franchises, trades, occu- 
pations, and professions. (For amendment of 1902, see page 284.) 

Sec. 182. Nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to pre- 
vent the General Assembly from providing by law how railroads and 
railroad property shall be assessed, and how taxes thereon shall be 
collected ; and until otherwise provided, the present law on said 
subject shall remain in force. 

Education. 

Sec. 183. The General Assembly shall by appropriate legislation 
provide for an efficient system of common schools throughout the 
State. 

Sec. 184. The bond of the Commonwealth, issued in favor of the 
Board of Education for the sum of one million three hundred and 
twenty-seven thousand dollars, shall constitute one bond of the Com- 
monwealth in favor of the Board of Education ; and this bond and the 
seventy-three thousand five hundred dollars of the stock in the Bank of 
Kentucky, held by the Board of Education, and its proceeds, shall be 
held inviolate for the purpose of sustaining the system of common 
schools. The interest and dividends of said fund, together with any 
sum which may be produced by taxation or otherwise for purposes of 
common school education, shall be appropriated to the common schools, 
and to no other purpose. No sum shall be raised or collected for edu- 
cation other than in common schools until the question of taxation is 
submitted to the legal voters, and the majority of the votes cast at said 
election shall be in favor of such taxation : provided the tax now im- 
posed for educational purposes, and for the endowment and mainte- 
nance of the Agricultural and Mechanical College, shall remain until 
changed by law. 

Sec. 185. The General Assembly shall make provision by law for 
the payment of the interest of said school fund, and may provide for 
the sale of the stock in the Bank of Kentucky ; and in case of a sale 
of all or any part of said stock, the proceeds of sale shall be in- 
vested by the sinking-fund commissioners in other good interest-bear- 
ing stocks or bonds, which shall be subject to sale and reinvestment 
from time to time, in like manner and with the same restrictions as 
provided with reference to the sale of the said stock in the Bank of 
Kentucky. 

Sec. 186. Each county in the Commonwealth shall be entitled to 
its proportion of the school fund on its census of pupil children for 
each school year ; and if the pro rata share of any school district be 
not called for after the second school year, it shall be covered into the 
treasury, and be placed to the credit of the school fund for general 
apportionment the following school year. The surplus now due the 
several counties shall remain a perpetual obligation against the Com- 
monwealth for the benefit of said respective counties, for which the 
Commonwealth shall execute its bond, bearing interest at the rate of 



xxxii CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. 

six per centum per annum, payable annually to the counties respec- 
tively entitled to the same, and in the proportion to which they are 
entitled, to be used exclusively in aid of common schools. 

Sec. 187. In distributing the school fund, no distinction shall be 
made on account of race or color, and separate schools for white and 
colored children shall be maintained. 

Sec. 188. So much of any moneys as may be received by the Com- 
monwealth from the United States under the recent act of Congress 
refunding the direct tax shall become a part of the school fund, and 
be held as provided in section one hundred and eighty-four ; but the 
General Assembly may authorize the use, by the Commonwealth, of 
the moneys so received, or any part thereof, in which event a bond 
shall be executed to the Board of Education for the amount so used, 
which bond shall be held on the same terms and conditions, and sub- 
ject to the provisions of section one hundred and eighty-four, con- 
cerning the bond therein referred to. 

Sec. 189. No portion of any fund or tax now existing, or that may 
hereafter be raised or levied, for educational purposes, shall be appro- 
priated to, or used by, or in aid of, any church, sectarian, or denom- 
inational school. 

Corporations. 

Sec. 190. No corporation in existence at the time of the adoption 
of this Constitution shall have the benefit of future legislation with- 
out first filing in the office of the secretary of state an acceptance of 
the provisions of this Constitution. 

Sec. 191. All existing charters or grants of special or exclusive 
privileges, under which a bona fide organization shall not have taken 
place, and business been commenced in good faith at the time of 
the adoption of this Constitution, shall thereafter be void and of no 
effect. 

Sec. 192. No corporation shall engage in business other than that 
expressly authorized by its charter, or the law" under which it may have 
been or hereafter may be organized, nor shall it hold any real estate, 
except such as may be proper and necessary for carrying on its legiti- 
mate business, for a longer period than five years, under penalty of 
escheat. 

Sec. 193. No corporation shall issue stock or bonds except for an 
equivalent in money paid or labor done, or property actually received 
and applied to the purposes for which such corporation was created ; 
and neither labor nor property shall be received in payment of stock 
or bonds at a greater value than the market price at the time said 
labor was done or property delivered ; and all fictitious increase of 
stock or indebtedness shall be void. 

Sec. 194. All corporations formed under the laws of this State, or 
carrying on business in this State, shall at all times have one or more 
known places of business in this State, and an authorized agent or 
agents there, upon whom process may be executed ; and the General 
Assembly shall enact laws to carry into effect the provisions of this 
section. 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. xxxiii 



Sec. 195. The Commonwealth, in the exercise of the right of emi- 
nent domain, shall have and retain the same powers to take the prop- 
erty and franchises of incorporated companies for public use which 
it has and retains to take the property of individuals ; and the ex- 
ercise of the police powers of this Commonwealth shall never be 
abridged, nor so construed as to permit corporations to conduct 
their business in such manner as to infringe upon the equal rights of 
individuals. 

Sec. 196. Transportation of freight and passengers by railroad, 
steamboat, or other common carrier, shall be so regulated by general 
law as to prevent unjust discrimination. No common carrier shall be 
permitted to contract for relief from its common law liability. 

Sec. 197. No railroad, steamboat, or other common carrier, under 
heavy penalty to be fixed by the General Assembly, shall give a free 
pass or passes, or shall, at reduced rates not common to the public, 
sell tickets for transportation to any State, district, city, town, or 
county officer, or member of the General Assembly, or judge ; and 
any State, district, city, town, or county officer, or member of the 
General Assembly, or judge, who shall accept or use a free pass or 
passes, or shall receive or use tickets or transportation at reduced 
rates not common to the public, shall forfeit his office. It shall be 
the duty of the General Assembly to enact laws to enforce the pro- 
visions of this section. 

Sec. 198. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly from time 
to time, as necessity may require, to enact such laws as may be nec- 
essary to prevent all trusts, pools, combinations, or other organiza- 
tions, from combining to depreciate below its real value any article, 
or to enhance the cost of any article above its real value. 

Sec. 199. Any association or corporation, or the lessees or managers 
thereof, organized for the purpose, or any individual, shall have the 
right to construct and maintain lines of telegraph within this State, 
and to connect the same with other lines ; and said companies shall 
receive and transmit each other's messages without unreasonable delay 
or discrimination, and all such companies are hereby declared to be 
common carriers, and subject to legislative control. Telephone com- 
panies operating exchanges in different towns or cities, or other pub- 
lic stations, shall receive and transmit each other's messages without 
unreasonable delay or discrimination. The General Assembly shall, 
by general laws of uniform operation, provide reasonable regulations 
to give full effect to this section. Nothing herein shall be construed 
to interfere with the rights of cities or towns to arrange and control 
their streets and alleys, and to designate the places at which, and the 
manner in which, the wires of such companies shall be erected or laid 
within the limits of such city or town. 

Sec. 200. If any railroad, telegraph, express, or other corporation 
organized under the laws of this Commonwealth shall consolidate, by 
sale or otherwise, with any railroad, telegraph, express, or other cor- 
poration organized under the laws of any other State, the same shall 
not thereby become a foreign corporation ; but the courts of this 
Commonwealth shall retain jurisdiction over that part of the corporate 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. 



property within the limits of this State in all matters which may arise, 
as if said consolidation had not taken place. 

Sec. 201. No railroad, telegraph, telephone, bridge, or common 
carrier company shall consolidate its capital stock, franchises, or prop- 
erty, or pool its earnings, in whole or in part, with any other railroad, 
telegraph, telephone, bridge, or common carrier company, owning a 
parallel or competing line or structure, or acquire by purchase, lease, 
or otherwise, any parallel or competing line or structure, or operate 
the same ; nor shall any railroad company or other common carrier 
combine or make any contract with the owners of any vessel that 
leaves or makes port in this State, or with any common carrier, by 
which combination or contract the earnings of one doing the carrying 
are to be shared by the other not doing the carrying. 

Sec. 202, No corporation organized outside the limits of this State 
shall be allowed to transact business within the State on more favor- 
able conditions than are prescribed by law to similar corporations 
organized under the laws of this Commonwealth. 

Sec. 203. No corporation shall lease or alienate any franchise so as 
to relieve the franchise or property held thereunder from the liabilities 
of the lessor or grantor, lessee or grantee, contracted or incurred in 
the operation, use, or enjoyment of such franchise, or any of its privi- 
leges. 

Sec. 204. Any president, director, manager, cashier, or other officer 
of any banking institution or association for the deposit or loan of 
money, or any individual banker, who shall receive or assent to the 
receiving of deposits after he shall have knowledge of the fact that 
such banking institution or association or individual banker is insol- 
vent, shall be individually responsible for such deposits so received, 
and shall be guilty of felony, and subject to such punishment as shall 
be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 205. The General Assembly shall by general laws provide for 
the revocation or forfeiture of the charters of all corporations guilty of 
abuse or misuse of their corporate powers, privileges, or franchises, or 
whenever said corporations become detrimental to the interest and 
welfare of the Commonwealth or its citizens. 

Sec. 206. All elevators or storehouses where grain or other property 
is stored for a compensation, whether the property stored be kept 
separate or not, are declared to be public warehouses, subject to legis- 
lative control ; and the General Assembly shall enact laws for the 
inspection of grain, tobacco, and other produce, and for the protec- 
tion of producers, shippers, and receivers of grain, tobacco, and other 
produce. 

Sec. 207. In all elections for directors or managers of any corpora- 
tion, each shareholder shall have the right to cast as many votes in 
the aggregate as he shall be entitled to vote in said company under its 
charter, multiplied by the number of directors or managers to be 
elected at such election ; and each shareholder may cast the whole 
number of votes, either in person or by proxy, for one candidate, or 
distribute such votes among two or more candidates ; and such direct- 
ors or managers shall not be elected in any other manner. 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. xxxv 

Sec. 208. The word "corporation" as used in this Constitution 
shall embrace joint-stock companies and associations. 

Railroads and Commerce. 

Sec. 209. A commission is hereby established, to be known as 
" The Railroad Commission," Avhich shall be composed of three com- 
missioners. During the session of the General Assembly which con- 
venes in December, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, and before the 
first day of June, eighteen hundred and ninety-two, the governor 
shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, said 
three commissioners, one from each superior court district as now estab- 
lished ; and said appointees shall take their office at the expiration 
of the terms of the present incumbents. The commissioners so 
appointed shall continue in office during the term of the present 
governor, and until their successors are elected and qualified. At the 
regular election in eighteen hundred and ninety- five, and every four 
years thereafter, the commissioners shall be elected, one in each 
superior court district, by the qualified voters thereof, at the same 
time and for the same term as the governor. No person shall be 
eligible to said office unless he be, at the time of his election, at least 
thirty years of age, a citizen of Kentucky two years, and a resident 
of the district from which he is chosen one year, next preceding his 
election. Any vacancy in this office shall be filled as provided in 
section one hundred and fifty-two of this Constitution. The General 
Assembly may from time to time change said districts so as to equalize 
the population thereof, and may, if deemed expedient, require that 
the commissioners be all elected by the qualified voters of the State at 
large ; and if so required, one commissioner shall be from each dis- 
trict. No person in the service of any railroad or common carrier 
company or corporation, or of any firm or association conducting 
business as a common carrier, or in any wise pecuniarily interested in 
such company, corporation, firm, or association, or in the railroad 
business, or as a common carrier, shall hold such office. The powers 
and duties of the railroad commissioners shall be regulated by law ; 
and, until otherwise provided by law, the commission so created shall 
have the same powers and jurisdiction, perform the same duties, be 
subject to the same regulations, and receive the same compensation, 
as now conferred, prescribed, and allowed by law to the existing rail- 
road commissioners. The General Assembly may, for cause, address 
any of said commissioners out of office by similar proceedings as in 
the case of judges of the Court of Appeals ; and the General Assem- 
bly shall enact laws to prevent the nonfeasance and misfeasance in 
office of said commissioners, and to impose proper penalties therefor. 

Sec. 210. No corporation engaged in the business of common 
carrier shall, directly or indirectly, own, manage, operate, or engage in, 
any other business than that of a common carrier, or hold, own, lease, 
or acquire, directly or indirectly, mines, factories, or timber, except 
such as shall be necessary to carry on its business ; and the General 



xxxvi CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. 

Assembly shall enact laws to give effect to the provisions of this 
section. 

Sec. 211. No railroad corporation organized under the laws of 
any other State, or of the United States, and doing business, or pro- 
posing to do business, in this State, shall be entitled to the benefit of 
the right of eminent domain, or have power to acquire the right of 
way or real estate for depot or other uses, until it shall have become a 
body corporate pursuant to and in accordance with the laws of this 
Commonwealth. 

Sec. 212. The rolling stock and other movable property belonging 
to any railroad corporation or company in this State shall be considered 
personal property, and shall be liable to execution and sale in the 
same manner as the personal property of individuals. The earnings 
of any railroad company or corporation, and choses in action, money 
and personal property of all kinds belonging to it, in the hands or 
under the control of any officer, agent, or employee of such corpora- 
tion or company, shall be subject to process of attachment to the 
same extent, and in the same manner, as like property of individuals 
when in the hands or under the control of other persons. Any such 
earnings, choses in action, money or other personal property, may be 
subjected to the payment of any judgment against such corporation or 
company in the same manner and to the same extent as such property 
of individuals in the hands of third persons. 

Sec. 213. All railroad, transfer, belt lines, and railway bridge com- 
panies, organized under the laws of Kentucky, or operating, maintain- 
ing, or controlling any railroad, transfer, belt lines, or bridges, or 
doing a railway business in this State, shall receive, transfer, deliver, 
and switch empty or loaded cars, and shall move, transport, receive, 
load, or unload all the freight in car-loads or less quantities, coming 
to or going from any railroad, transfer, belt line, bridge, or siding 
thereon, with equal promptness and dispatch, and without any dis- 
crimination as to charges, preference, drawback, or rebate in favor of 
any person, corporation, consignee, or consignor, in any matter as to 
payment, transportation, handling, or delivery ; and shall so receive, 
deliver, transfer, and transport all freight as above set forth, from 
and to any point where there is a physical connection between the 
tracks of said companies. But this section shall not be construed as 
requiring any such common carrier to allow the use of its tracks for 
the trains of another engaged in like business. 

Sec. 214. No railway, transfer, belt line, or railway bridge com- 
pany shall make any exclusive or preferential contract or arrangement 
with any individual, association, or corporation, for the receipt, trans- 
fer, delivery, transportation, handling, care, or custody of any freight, 
or for the conduct of any business as a common carrier. 

Sec. 215. All railway, transfer, belt lines, or railway bridge com- 
panies shall receive, load, unload, transport, haul, deliver, and handle 
freight of the same class for all persons, associations, or corporations 
from and to the same points and upon the same conditions, in the 
same manner and for the same charges, and for the same method 
of payment. 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. xxxvii 



Sec. 216. All railway, transfer, belt lines, and railway bridge com- 
panies shall allow the tracks of each other to unite, intersect, and 
cross at any point where such union, intersection, and crossing is 
reasonable or feasible. 

Sec. 217. Any person, association, or corporation, willfully or 
knowingly violating any of the provisions of sections two hundred 
and thirteen, two hundred and fourteen, two hundred and fifteen, or two 
hundred and sixteen, shall, upon conviction by a court of competent 
jurisdiction, for the first offense be fined two thousand dollars ; for the 
second offense, five thousand dollars ; and for the third offense, shall 
thereupon, ipso facto, forfeit its franchises, privileges, or charter 
rights ; and if such delinquent be a foreign corporation, it shall, ipso 
facto, forfeit its right to do business in this State ; and the attorney- 
general of the Commonwealth shall forthwith, upon notice of the 
violation of any of said provisions, institute proceedings to enforce 
the provisions of the aforesaid sections. 

Sec. 218. It shall be unlawful for any person or corporation own- 
ing or operating a railroad in this State, or any common carrier, to 
charge or receive any greater compensation in the aggregate for the 
transportation of passengers, or of property of like kind, under sub- 
stantially similar circumstances and conditions, for a shorter than for 
a longer distance over the same line, in the same direction, the shorter 
being included within the longer distance ; but this shall not be con- 
strued as authorizing any common carrier, or person or corporation, 
owning or operating a railroad in this State, to receive as great com- 
pensation for a shorter as for a longer distance : provided, that, upon 
application to the railroad commission, such common carrier, or person, 
or corporation owning or operating a railroad in this State, may in 
special cases, after investigation by the commission, be authorized to 
charge less for longer than for shorter distances for the transportation 
of passengers or property ; and the commission may from time to 
time prescribe the extent to which such common carrier or person, or 
corporation owning or operating a railroad in this State, may be 
relieved from the operations of this section. 

The Militia. 

Sec. 219. The militia of the Commonwealth of Kentucky shall 
consist of all able-bodied male residents of the State between the ages of 
eighteen and forty-five years, except such persons as may be exempted 
by the laws of the State or of the United States. 

Sec. 220. The General Assembly shall provide for maintaining an 
organized militia, and may exempt from military service persons 
having conscientious scruples against bearing arms ; but such persons 
shall pay an equivalent for such exemption. 

Sec. 221. The organization, equipment, and discipline of the militia 
shall conform as nearly as practicable to the regulations for the 
government of the armies of the United States. 

Sec. 222. All militia officers whose appointment is not herein 
otherwise provided for shall be elected by persons subject to military 



xxxviii CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. 



duty within their respective companies, battalions, regiments, or other 
commands, under such rules and regulations, and for such terms, not 
exceeding four years, as the General Assembly may from time to time 
direct and establish. The governor shall appoint an adjutant-general 
and his other staff officers; the generals and commandants of regiments 
and battalions shall respectively appoint their staff officers ; and the 
commandants of companies shall, subject to the approval of their 
regimental or battalion commanders, appoint their non-commissioned 
officers. The governor shall have power to fill vacancies that may 
occur in elective offices by granting commissions, which shall expire 
when such vacancies have been filled according to the provisions of 
this Constitution. 

Sec. 223. The General Assembly shall provide for the safe-keeping 
of the public arms, military records, relics, and banners of the Com- 
monwealth of Kentucky. 

General Provisions. 

Sec. 224. The General Assembly shall provide by a general law 
what officers shall execute bond for the faithful discharge of their 
duties, and fix the liability therein. 

Sec. 225. No armed person or bodies of men shall be brought into 
this State for the preservation of the peace or the suppression of do- 
mestic violence, except upon the application of the General Assembly, 
or of the governor when the General Assembly may not be in session. 

Sec. 226. Lotteries and gift enterprises are forbidden, and no privi- 
leges shall be granted for such purposes, and none shall be exercised, and 
no schemes for similar purposes shall be allowed. The General Assem- 
bly shall enforce this section by proper penalties. All lottery privi- 
leges or charters heretofore granted are revoked. 

Sec. 227. Judges of the county court, justices of the peace, sheriffs, 
coroners, surveyors, jailers, assessors, county attorneys, and constables 
shall be subject to indictment or prosecution for misfeasance or malfea- 
sance in office, or willful neglect in discharge of official duties, in such 
mode as may be prescribed by law ; and upon conviction, his office shall 
become vacant, but such officer shall have the right of appeal to 
the Court of Appeals. 

Sec. 228. Members of the General Assembly and all officers, before 
they enter upon the execution of the duties of their respective offices, 
and all members of the bar before they enter upon the practice of their 
profession, shall take the following oath or affirmation : " I do solemnly 
swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will support the Constitu- 
tion of the United States and the Constitution of this Commonwealth, 
and be faithful and true to the Commonwealth of Kentucky so long as I 
continue a citizen thereof, and that I will faithfully execute, to the best 
of my ability, the office of according to law; and I do further sol- 
emnly swear (or affirm) that since the adoption of the present Constitu- 
tion, I, being a citizen of this Sl;ate, have not fought a duel with deadly 
weapons within this State nor out of it, nor have I sent or accepted a 
challenge to fight a duel with deadly weapons, nor have I acted as 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. 



second in carrying a challenge, nor aided or assisted any person thus 
offending, so help me God ! " 

Sec. 229. Treason against the Commonwealth shall consist only in 
levying war against it, or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid 
and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason except on the 
testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or his own confession 
in open court. 

Sec. 230. No money shall be drawn from the State treasury, except 
in pursuance of appropriations made by law ; and a regular statement 
and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall 
be published annually. 

Sec. 231. The General Assembly may by law direct in what manner 
and in what courts suits may be brought against the Commonwealth. 

Sec. 232. The manner of administering an oath or affirmation shall 
be such as is most consistent with the conscience of the deponent, and 
shall be esteemed by the General Assembly the most solemn appeal to 
God. 

Sec. 233. All laws which, on the first day of June, one thousand 
seven hundred and ninety-two, were in force in the State of Virginia, 
and which are of a general nature and not local to that State, and not 
repugnant to this Constitution, nor to the laws which have been enacted 
by the General Assembly of this Commonwealth, shall be in force 
within this State until they shall be altered or repealed by the General 
Assembly. 

Sec. 234. All civil officers for the State at large shall reside within 
the State, and all district, county, city, or town officers shall reside 
within their respective districts, counties, cities, or towns, and shall 
keep their offices at such places therein as may be required by law. 

Sec. 235. The salaries of public officers shall not be changed 
during the terms for which they were elected ; but it shall be the 
duty of the General Assembly to regulate, by a general law, in what 
cases and what deductions shall be made for neglect of official duties. 
This section shall apply to members of the General Assembly also. 

Sec. 236. The General Assembly shall by law prescribe the time 
when the several officers authorized or directed by this Constitution 
to be elected or appointed shall enter upon the duties of their 
respective offices, except where the time is fixed by this Constitution. 

Sec. 237. No member of Congress, or person holding or exercising 
an office of trust or profit under the United States, or any of them, 
or under any foreign power, shall be eligible to hold or exercise any 
office of trust or profit under this Constitution, or the laws made in 
pursuance thereof. 

Sec. 238. The General Assembly shall direct by law how persons 
who now are, or may hereafter become, sureties for public officers, 
may be relieved of or discharged from suretyship. 

Sec. 239. Any person who shall, after the adoption of this Consti- 
tution, either directly or indirectly, give, accept, or knowingly carry, 
a challenge to any person or persons to fight in single combat, with a 
citizen of this State, with a deadly weapon, either in or out of the 
State, shall be deprived of the right to hold any office of honor or 



xl CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. 

profit in this Commonwealth ; and if said acts, or any of them, be 
committed within this State, the person or persons so committing 
them shall be further punished in such manner as the General Assem- 
bly may prescribe by law. 

Sec. 240. The governor shall have power, after five years from the 
time of the offense, to pardon any person who shall have participated 
in a duel as principal, second, or otherwise, and to restore him to all 
the rights, privileges, and immunities to which he was entitled before 
such participation. Upon presentation of such pardon, the oath 
prescribed in section two hundred and twenty-eight shall be varied to 
suit the case. 

Sec. 241. Whenever the death of a person shall result from an 
injury inflicted by negligence or wrongful act, then, in every such 
case, damages may be recovered for such death, from the corpora- 
tions and persons so causing the same. Until otherwise provided by 
law, the action to recover such damages shall in all cases be prosecuted 
by the personal representative of the deceased person. The General 
Assembly may provide how the recovery shall go, and to whom 
belong ; and, until such provision is made, the same shall form part 
of the personal estate of the deceased person. 

Sec. 242. Municipal and other corporations, and individuals in- 
vested with the privilege of taking private property for public use, 
shall make just compensation for property taken, injured, or destroyed 
by them ; which compensation shall be paid before such taking, or 
paid or secured, at the election of such corporation or individual, 
before such injury or destruction. The General Assembly shall not 
deprive any person of an appeal from any preliminary assessment of 
damages against any such corporation or individual made by commis- 
sioners or otherwise ; and, upon appeal from such preliminary assess- 
ment, the amount of such damages shall in all cases be determined by 
a jury, according to the course of the common law. 

Sec. 243. The General Assembly shall by law fix the minimum 
ages at which children may be employed in places dangerous to life or 
health, or injurious to morals, and shall provide adequate penalties for 
violations of such law. 

Sec. 244. All wage-earners in this State employed in factories, 
mines, workshops, or by corporations, shall be paid for their labor in 
lawful money. The General Assembly shall prescribe adequate pen- 
alties for violations of this section. 

Sec. 245. Upon the promulgation of this Constitution, the governor 
shall appoint three persons, learned in the law, who shall be commis- 
sioners to revise the statute laws of this Commonwealth, and prepare 
amendments thereto, to the end that the statute laws shall conform to 
and effectuate this Constitution. Such revision and amendments shall 
be laid before the next General Assembly for adoption or rejection, 
in whole or in part. The said commissioners shall be allowed ten 
dollars each per day for their services, and also necessary stationery 
for the time during which they are actually employed ; and upon their 
certificate the auditor shall draw his warrant upon the treasurer. 
They shall have the power to employ clerical assistants, at a compen- 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. xli 



sation not exceeding ten dollars per day in the aggregate. If the com- 
missioners, or any of them, shall refuse to act, or a vacancy shall oc- 
cur, the governor shall appoint another or others in his or their place. 

Sec. 246. No public officer, except the governor, shall receive more 
than five thousand dollars per annum as compensation for official ser- 
vices, independent of the compensation of legally authorized deputies 
and assistants, which shall be fixed and provided for by law. The 
General Assembly shall provide for the enforcement of this section by 
suitable penalties, one of which shall be forfeiture of office by any 
person violating its provisions. 

Sec. 247. The printing and binding of the laws, journals, depart- 
ment reports, and all other public printing and binding, shall be per- 
formed under contract, to be given to the lowest responsible bidder, 
below such maximum and under such regulations as may be prescribed 
by law. No member of the General Assembly, or officer of the Com- 
monwealth, shall be in any way interested in any such contract ; and 
all such contracts shall be subject to the approval of the governor. 

Sec. 248. A grand jury shall consist of twelve persons, nine of 
whom, concurring, may find an indictment. In civil and misdemeanor 
cases, in courts inferior to the circuit courts, a jury shall consist of six 
persons. The General Assembly may provide, that, in any or all trials 
of civil actions in the circuit courts, three-fourths or more of the jurors 
concurring may return a verdict, which shall have the same force and 
effect as if rendered by the entire panel ; but where a verdict is ren- 
dered by a less number than the whole jury, it shall be signed by all 
the jurors who agree to it. 

Sec. 249. The House of Representatives of the General Assembly 
shall not elect, appoint, employ, or pay for, exceeding one chief 
-clerk, one assistant clerk, one enrolling clerk, one sergeant-at-arms, 
one door-keeper, one janitor, two cloak-room keepers, and four pages ; 
and the Senate shall not elect, appoint, employ, or pay for, exceeding 
one chief clerk, one assistant clerk, one enrolling clerk, one sergeant- 
at-arms, one door-keeper, one janitor, one cloak-room keeper, and three 
pages ; and the General Assembly shall provide by general law for 
fixing the per diem or salary of all of said employees. 

Sec. 250. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to enact 
such laws as shall be necessary and proper to decide differences by 
arbitrators, the arbitrators to be appointed by the parties who may 
choose that summary mode of adjustment. 

Sec. 251. No action shall be maintained for possession of any 
lands lying within this State, where it is necessary for the claimant to 
rely for his recovery on any grant or patent issued by the Common- 
wealth of Virginia, or by the Commonwealth of Kentucky prior to the 
year one thousand eight hundred and twenty, against any person 
claiming such lands by possession to a well-defined boundary, under a 
title of record, unless such action shall be instituted within five years 
after this Constitution shall go into effect, or within five years after the 
occupant may take possession ; but nothing herein shall be construed 
to affect any right, title, or interest in lands acquired by virtue of 
adverse possession under the laws of this Commonwealth. 



xlii CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. 

Sec. 252. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to provide 
by law, as soon as practicable, for the establishment and maintenance 
of an institution or institutions for the detention, correction, instruc- 
tion, and reformation of all persons under the age of eighteen years, 
convicted of such felonies and such misdemeanors as may be desig- 
nated by law. Said institution shall be known as the "House of 
Reform." 

Sec. 253. Persons convicted of felony and sentenced to confinement 
in the penitentiary shall be confined at labor within the walls of the 
penitentiary ; and the General Assembly shall not have the power to 
authorize employment of convicts elsewhere, except upon the public 
works of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, or when, during pestilence 
or in case of the destruction of the prison buildings, they cannot be 
confined in the penitentiary. 

Sec. 254. The Commonwealth shall maintain control of the disci- 
pline, and provide for all supplies, and for the sanitary condition of 
the convicts, and the labor only of convicts may be leased. 

Sec. 255. The seat of government shall continue in the city of 
Frankfort, unless removed by a vote of two-thirds of each House of 
the first General Assembly which convenes after the adoption of this 
Constitution. 

Mode of Revision. 

Sec. 256. Amendments to this Constitution may be proposed in 
either House of the General Assembly at a regular session ; and if 
such amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by three-fifths of 
all the members elected to each House, such proposed amendment or 
amendments, with the yeas and nays of the members of each House 
taken thereon, shall be entered in full in their respective journals. 
Then such proposed amendment or amendments shall be submitted to 
the voters of the State for their ratification or rejection at the next 
general election for members of the House of Representatives, the 
vote to be taken thereon in such manner as the General Assembly may 
provide, and to be certified by the officers of election to the secretary 
of state in such manner as shall be provided by law, which vote shall 
be compared and certified by the same board authorized by law to 
compare the polls and give certificates of election to officers for the 
State at large. If it shall appear that a majority of the votes cast for 
and against an amendment at said election was for the amendment, 
then the same shall become a part of the Constitution of this Common- 
wealth, and shall be so proclaimed by the governor, and published in 
such manner as the General Assembly may direct. Said amendments 
shall not be submitted at an election which occurs less than ninety 
days from the final passage of such proposed amendment or amend- 
ments. Not more than two amendments shall be voted upon at any 
one time, nor shall the same amendment be again submitted within 
five years after a submission. Said amendments shall be so submitted 
as to allow a separate vote dn each, and no amendment shall relate to 
more than one subject ; but no amendment shall be proposed by the 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. xliii 



first General Assembly which convenes after the adoption of this Con- 
stitution. The approval of the governor shall not be necessary to any 
bill, order, resolution, or vote of the General Assembly, proposing an 
amendment or amendments to this Constitution. 

Sec. 257. Before an amendment shall be submitted to a vote, the 
secretary of state shall cause such proposed amendment, and the time 
that the same is to be voted upon, to be published at least ninety days 
before the vote is to be taken thereon in such manner as may be pre- 
scribed by law. 

Sec. 258. When a majority of all the members elected to each 
House of the General Assembly shall concur by a yea and nay vote, 
to be entered upon their respective journals, in enacting a law to take 
the sense of the people of the State as to the necessity and expediency 
of calling a convention for the purpose of revising or amending this 
Constitution and such amendments as may have been made to the 
same, such law shall be spread upon their respective journals. If the 
next General Assembly shall in like manner concur in such law, it 
shall provide for having a poll opened in each voting precinct in this 
State by the officers provided by law for holding general elections at 
the next ensuing regular election to be held for State officers or mem- 
bers of the House of Representatives, which does not occur within 
ninety days from the final passage of such law, at which time and 
places the votes of the qualified voters shall be taken for and against 
calling the convention, in the same manner provided by law for taking 
votes in other State elections. The vote for and against said proposi- 
tion shall be certified to the secretary of state by the same officers and 
in the same manner as in State elections. If it shall appear that 
a majority voting on the proposition was for calling a convention, and 
if the total number of votes cast for the calling of the convention is 
equal to one-fourth of the number of qualified voters who voted at the 
last preceding general election in this State, the secretary of state 
shall certify the same to the General Assembly at its next regular 
session, at which session a law shall be enacted calling a convention to 
readopt, revise, or amend this Constitution and such amendments as 
may have been made thereto. 

'Sec. 259. The convention shall consist of as many delegates as 
there are members of the House of Representatives ; and the delegates 
shall have the same qualifications and be elected from the same dis- 
tricts as said Representatives. 

Sec. 260. Delegates to such convention shall be elected at the next 
general State election after the passage of the act calling the conven- 
tion, which does not occur within less than ninety days ; and they shall 
meet within ninety days after their election at the Capital of the State, 
and continue in session until their work is completed. 

Sec. 261. The General Assembly, in the act calling the convention, 
shall provide for comparing the polls and giving certificates of election 
to the delegates elected, and provide for their compensation. 

Sec. 262. The convention, when assembled, shall be the judge of 
the election and qualification of its members, and shall determine con- 
tested elections ; but the General Assembly shall, in the act calling 



xliv CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. 

the convention, provide for taking testimony in such cases, and for 
issuing a writ of election in case of a tie. 

Sec. 263. Before a vote is taken upon the question of calling a con- 
vention, the secretary of state shall cause notice of the election to be 
published in such manner as may be provided by the act directing 
said vote to be taken. 

Schedule. 

That no inconvenience may arise from the alterations and amend- 
ments made in this Constitution, and in order to carry the same into 
complete operation, it is hereby declared and ordained : — 

1. That all laws of this Commonwealth in force at the time of the 
adoption of this Constitution, not inconsistent therewith, shall remain 
in full force until altered or repealed by the General Assembly; and all 
rights, actions, prosecutions, claims, and contracts of the State, coun- 
ties, individuals, or bodies corporate, not inconsistent therewith, shall 
continue as valid as if this Constitution had not been adopted. The 
provisions of all laws which are inconsistent with this Constitution 
shall cease upon its adoption, except that all laws which are inconsist- 
ent with such provisions as require legislation to enforce them shall 
remain in force until such legislation is had, but not longer than six 
years after the adoption of this Constitutien, unless sooner amended or 
repealed by the General Assembly. 

2. That all recognizances, obligations, and all other instruments 
entered into or executed before the adoption of this Constitution, to 
the State, or to any city, town, county, or subdivision thereof, and all 
fines, taxes, penalties, and forfeitures due or owing to this State, or to 
any city, town, county, or subdivision thereof ; and all writs, prosecu- 
tions, actions and causes of action, except as otherwise herein pro- 
vided, shall continue and remain unaffected by the adoption of this 
Constitution; and all indictments which shall have been found, or may 
hereafter be found, for any crime or offense committed before this 
Constitution takes effect, may be prosecuted as if no change had taken 
place, except as otherwise" provided in this Constitution. 

3. All circuit, chancery, criminal, law and equity, law, and common 
pleas courts, as now constituted and organized by law, shall continue 

'.with their respective jurisdictions until the judges of the circuit courts 
provided for in this Constitution shall have been elected and qualified, 
and shall then cease and determine; and the causes, actions, and pro- 
ceedings then pending in said first-named courts, which are discon- 
tinued by this Constitution, shall be transferred to, and tried by, the 
circuit courts in the counties, respectively, in which said causes, actions, 
and proceedings are pending. 

4 and 5. [These sections were of only temporary effect, concerning 
the election, appointment, and terms of certain officers in 1891-1896.] 

6. The quarterly courts created by this Constitution shall be the 
successors of the present statutory quarterly courts in the several coun- 
ties of this State; and all suits, proceedings, prosecutions, records, 
judgments now pending or being in said last-named courts, shall, after 



CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY. xlv 

the adoption of this Constitution, be transferred to the quarterly courts 
created by this Constitution, and shall proceed as though the same had 
been therein instituted. 

Ordinance. 

We, the representatives of the people of Kentucky, in Convention 
assembled, in their name and by their authority and in virtue of the 
power vested in us as delegates from the counties and districts respec- 
tively affixed to our names, do ordain and proclaim the foregoing to be 
the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky from and after 
this date. 

Done at Frankfort this twenty-eighth day of September, in the year 
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-one, and in 
the ninety-ninth* year of the Commonwealth. 

Amendment of 1902, added to Section 181. 

And the General Assembly may, by general laws only, authorize 
cities or towns of any class to provide for taxation for municipal pur- 
poses on personal property, tangible and intangible, based on income, 
licenses or franchises, in lieu of an ad valorem tax thereon : Provided, 
Cities of the first class shall not be authorized to omit the imposition 
of an ad valorem tax on such property of any steam railroad, street 
railway, ferry, bridge, gas, water, heating, telephone, telegraph, electric 
light or electric power company. 

Amendment of 1908, added to Section 177. 

The credit of the Commonwealth may be given, pledged or loaned 
to any county of the Commonwealth for public road purposes, and any 
county may be permitted to incur an indebtedness in any amount fixed 
by the county, not in excess of five percentum of the value of the 
taxable property therein, for public road purposes in said county, pro- 
vided said additional indebtedness is submitted to the voters of the 
county for their ratification or rejection at a special election held for 
said purpose, in such manner as may be provided by law, and when 
any such indebtedness is incurred by any county, said county may levy, 
in addition to the tax rate allowed under section 157 of the Constitu- 
tion of Kentucky, an amount not exceeding twenty cents on the one 
hundred dollars of the assessed valuation of said county for the pur- 
pose of paying the interest on said indebtedness and "providing a sink- 
ing fund for the payment of said indebtedness. 

* Error : should be " one hundredth." 



